Never Not Good Enough
by proudtobeamerican18
Summary: Just as the long awaited relationship between Jack and Sue becomes a reality, other factors partake in trying to destroy it when Jack and Bobby both find themselves victims of gun shots and very unwilling patients. J/S and B/T, mix of fuzzy/unfuzzy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing. Pax and Pebblehut do. But thanks for reading anyway! And thank for the very kind reviews Anony-Mousy and cheliosfan.**

"Sue, Sue, Sue," Jack said, shaking his head slightly in mock disappointment. "So young...so naively unaware of the wonderful world of fast food that we live in."

"Not unaware..." Sue countered, stepping through the door of the coffee shop that Jack held open for her. "Just unimpressed. I don't see what on earth is appetizing about chicken stuck in hot grease. Isn't that right, Levi?"

Sue looked down at Levi but did not find the concurrence that she had wanted.

"Aha! Levi is on my side with this one...isn't that right boy? Everyone needs a little fried food every once in a while," Jack baby-talked him, cocking his head toward her so that she could see his lips as he dug in the paper bag for his stir-stick. Finding the small straw and sticking it in his mouth, he bent over to pet Levi.

Sue shook her head with a sarcastic smile and rolled her eyes as they sidestepped a woman and her stroller. The cold snow against the dreary gray atmosphere made her snuggle deeper into her long thick jacket and she sipped her steaming coffee. The park came into view just as they came to a halt at the busy intersection and waited for the walk signal.

"Have you talked to Lucy lately?" Sue felt Jack touch her elbow to get her attention and looked up at his lips.

"Yes, actually," she said, pulling Levi's leash more firmly as he became more restless with their lack of motion. "She said that her flight back to D.C. was postponed until tomorrow night because of the weather...so she won't be able to make it home tonight."

The light must have turned red, because Jack motioned her forward with a hand on the small of her back when she did not hear the signal beep. When they reached the other side of the road and stepped onto the sidewalk, Sue returned her gaze to Jack's face. His brows were slightly furrowed in concentration as he looked to the snowing sky briefly.

"You alright staying by yourself?" he asked, turning his head to face her, the wrinkles in his forehead from his brows still visible.

"I've lived by myself before, Jack...besides, it's just one more night," she said with a laugh, watching his lips as he observed the inhabitants of the park.

She waited to see his reply, but none came. She slowed her step to a stop as she saw his eyes set on something and all the humor from his features fell to be replaced by hard sobriety. Sue reached forward and touched his rigid arm; he looked back at her with a strange expression and immediately tried to soften it.

"Why don't we go get some dinner or something?" he said, beginning to turn.

"I already have dinner plans with David," Sue answered, getting the feeling that he was trying to block her view by the way he stood at an odd angle. "I told you that just a minute ago."

Jack opened his mouth to reply but appeared unable to think of an excuse. Sue moved her head to the side slightly, but Jack moved too.

"What is it, Jack?" Sue demanded, stepping closer in another attempt to see past him.

This time he did not resist, but turned toward Sue as she scanned the park for the something that had disturbed him. The falling snow made her search a little more difficult, but her eyes finally came to rest on a couple sitting on a bench, a black dog at their feet. The woman was unfamiliar, but the man with his arm around her shoulder and the dog at their feet she knew all too well.

"She could be his sister, Sue," she saw Jack say after he touched her arm for her attention. "Just wait until you talk to him."

"I don't want to talk to him," Sue said after looking back across the park at them. "Because I'm pretty sure that is not his sister."

Jack looked back at the park bench, slightly confused at her words. But the reason was soon evident; David was leaned over the woman, kissing her with his hand on her face. Hot anger welled up in his chest as he looked back at Sue. Tears that had nothing to do with the chilling wind were in her eyes as she watched them and Jack clenched his fist.

"I want to go home," she said suddenly, turning away and tugging on Levi's collar as he barked to his canine friend in the park on David's leash.

"You should go talk to him, Sue...or I can," Jack grabbed her by the arm.

"No, Jack! I just want to go home," Sue insisted, snatching her arm from his grasp after reading his lips.

"For the woman's sake, at least," Jack stepped in front of her.

"She knows, Jack!" Sue said thickly, the tears that she had been restraining rolling down her cheeks. "I just saw them talking...he just told her that he was planning to break up with me tonight at dinner...and she said she was looking forward to their trip to Bora-Bora to get away from the snow."

Jack did not know what to say as the anger in his chest rose even more, but the obvious pain on Sue's face made him reign in the desire to punch that David guy in the head. He swallowed down the fire in his throat and reached into his pocket for a napkin and handed it to Sue.

"Let me walk you home," he begged after she wiped her eyes with the napkin and looked back up at him.

"I don't want to spoil your evening," she replied, shaking her head and sniffing softly. "I just need to be alone for a little while."

Jack watched her carefully for a moment before nodding his head in resignation. He yearned to make it better for her as she tried to smile but ended with a shaky frown and a suppressed sob. As they came back up on the intersection, Sue branched off to the right with a halfhearted wave goodbye. She did not look to see if Jack had any departing words, not wanting to know what they were if he did.

She tried to swallow down the tears as she walked down the sidewalk past the several buildings that lead to her apartment building. Mercifully, no one appeared to notice her struggle to maintain composure and Levi walked sedately and well-behaved at her side. She was not sure that she could handle one curious or pitying look or else she may fall to pieces before she even reached her building. But she finally did and as she entered the lock code, she remembered that Lucy would not be there to meet her that night.

Levi scratched at her leg to let her know the door had buzzed and she pulled it open. Levi led the way up the stairs as much as his leash would allow and Sue followed, longing for the privacy of her own livingroom. As she came to the top of the stair and made her way down the hallway, she realized just how much she wished Lucy was there. She unlocked the door and closed it behind her, resting her head on the wood and reaching her hand backwards to lock it again.

The tears started to run down her cheeks again and she did not even bother to try and dry them. She was used to silence...her life was silent, but not the depressing inactivity when she wanted nothing more than for someone to hold her and let her cry. She pulled off her jacket and overcoat and hung it on the hook, her scarf and gloves following closely. She reached down to unlatched the leash from Levi's collar and set it down on the lamp table.

Levi followed her into the livingroom and she curled up on the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs. She wanted Lucy; she needed her best friend right now, if only to hug her. But then the sense of hopelessness fell over her as she reminded herself that it was impossible. The emotion compounded itself on the anger and the embarrassment and the hurt feelings. She let out the painful sobs that she had been holding back and closed her eyes tightly against the world.

The fact that she had always expected something like this to happen was not comforting to the fact that it did. It always hurt to feel rejected when emotions, no matter how few, had been invested into a relationship, but why on earth did it have to be Jack that was there when it did? Sue was not sure which was worst: actually allowing herself to believe that a real relationship may be in her future, Jack being there to witness her being cheated on by another man, or wanting Lucy beside her the one time that she could not be. Everything seemed to be rolling into a rubber ball, weighted down by a heavy ball inside it that ran over her different emotions in turn.

She felt something heavy against her and opened her eyes to see Levi's face right beside her own as he licked at her hands. She wrapped her arms around his furry neck and laid her head against the arm of the couch; Levi laid his head on his paws too and Sue found enough comfort in him to softly cry herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, etc., etc., etc.. Please let me know what you think! I take everyone's input to heart. :)**

Sue felt Levi's warm tongue lick at her face as he gently pawed at her and she sat up suddenly. Levi jumped off the couch and ran towards the door, looking back at her expectantly. Sue looked into the kitchen at the clock on the stove; it was only six o'clock, David had told her he would be there to pick her up for dinner at seven. But she saw Levi bark at the door and rose to see who it was.

Standing on her toes to look through the peephole, she saw a head of black hair and then Jack looked up at the door. Sue dropped back onto her heels and let out a slow breath; she was not sure that she wanted Jack there to see her like this, but she could not just refuse to let him in. She reached for the deadbolt and unhooked it, pulling the door open.

"Hi," Jack said with an uncomfortable smile when Sue poked her head around the door. "Uh...can I come in, please?"

Sue nodded slowly, opening the door wider for him to pass through and closing it behind him. He appeared a bit awkward standing in the hallway, so Sue moved into the kitchen.

"Would you like some tea, or cranberry juice, maybe?" she offered, pulling two coffee mugs from the cabinet.

"Tea would be fine," he said when she looked back for his response. Then he held up the two paper bags in his hand with a small smile. "I...uh...brought your favorite Chinese food. Chicken with broccoli on rice, but I forgot the soy sauce...hope you have some."

"I do," she replied as he dropped the bags on the island counter. "And thank you, but...I'm really not in the mood for Chinese, right now."

"I thought you might not be," he said, nodding his head understandingly. He unrolled the other bag and extracted a small box. "That's why I also brought chocolate ice cream...with whipped cream." He pulled a small can from the bag, as well. He smiled a little more and shrugged his shoulders as though waiting for her approval.

Sue could not help but to smile at least a little bit and she turned to get two bowls, too. She placed them on the counter and handed Jack a dipping spoon out of the silverware drawer.

"Chocolate ice cream and whipped cream is good for the soul," he said, pulling the top off the carton and then breaking the tab on the can of pressurized cream.

"But tea doesn't go with ice cream...coffee instead?" she asked, determined to try and make the atmosphere more comfortable as Jack was obviously trying to do.

Jack nodded and began dipping the dessert as she started the pot of coffee. In short order, they had both coffee cups and ice cream bowls in hand and sat down on either end of the couch. Neither one spoke, but sipped at their coffee and picked at their ice cream. Levi scratched at the knee of Jack's jeans and Sue smiled a bit as she saw Jack scoop a lump of whip cream onto his finger and let Levi polish it off.

"I hope you know he's taking full advantage of you," Sue remarked, taking a bite and tapping the spoon against her lips absently.

"Yeah, I know," Jack said with a smile as Levi looked up at him again pitifully. "I taught him that...find weakness and use it to get what you want. But I was only referring to evidence and interrogations with federal criminals...you're breaking the rules, buddy." Jack placed his empty bowl on the floor and pet the golden retriever's fur as he licked up the last few morsels.

Sue halfway smiled again; she wanted to laugh, needed to laugh, but just could not seem to find it in her. She took one more small bite and placed her half-full bowl beside Jack's on the floor.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" she asked, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

Jack looked up at her and met her gaze with wide and unsure eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I just mean...why?" Sue answered, feeling tears in her eyes again as she thought of the embarrassing situation that she was in.

"Because Lucy's not able to be, right now," he signed, his brow furrowed in concentration and then met her eyes. "And no one should be alone at a time like this. Everyone needs a friend to cry on...you'll just have to settle for me."

He smiled softly again and reached for her hand. He squeezed it gently beneath his fingers and Sue felt a tear slide down her cheek, then she could not stop the steady flow that followed. She felt the couch shift lightly as Jack moved a little closer and she tried to mop the tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm s...sorry," she apologized, trying to get a grip on herself.

Jack did not reply, but gently pulled her towards him and she buried her face into his shoulder as she felt him wrap his arms around her. He reached one hand to her hair and smoothed it between his fingers, feeling her small frame quake with her soft sobbing. His heart constricted with the anger he felt towards David, the sorrow he felt for Sue, and the guilty feelings of relief he felt for himself.

He wanted to be there for her in a time when she needed a friend, but knew that he could not give her the words of comfort that she needed because of his personal bias. He had wished for a long time that David would leave the picture, ever since he had admitted to himself that he was in love with Sue and had stopped trying to fight it. But he never wanted this; he would rather have longed for her from afar and had her in David's arms instead of his to avoid seeing her in such a state. The guilt of feeling relieved when she was so upset was too overbearing, then the thought that Sue was accepting his comfort as a friend when he felt the farthest from being a good one to her did not help to relieve the depressing sensation.

After several minutes, Sue grew silent and pulled away slowly. She gave him a shaky smile and signed _thank you_, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her fingertips.

"It's silly of me to be getting this upset, really," she said a little unevenly. "I mean...I'm not really all that attacted. I knew that this wasn't a relationship that was actually going to last for a long time. I guess it's just..."

"Feeling rejected...like you're not wanted, or not good enough?" Jack finished for her when she seemed unable to, hoping that his offered conclusion was not too harsh when tears threatened at her eyes again.

Sue nodded her head slowly and Jack took her hand again. "That's how I felt when I had girlfriends that cheated on me a few times. But don't you dare think that, Sue. Don't you ever think that you aren't good enough. Any man would be lucky to have you, do you understand that?"

A single tear fell past Sue's lashes as she stared back up at Jack, unsure of what to say or how to thank him. The pain was still so acute, like high school all over again and Jack was the only person that had ever told her anything like that before. It was almost startling that Jack was able to comprehend how she felt so amply; that he could describe and define the painful emotions in her chest accurately sent strange tingling sensations throughout her chest and limbs.

"Ja...," she began, but his name caught in her throat as her emotions caught up with her and she took a second to compose herself. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack did not reply, but clasped her hand firmly in his as his brown eyes bore into her hazel ones. Several seconds of silence passed before Sue realized that Jack was slowly moving closer; she was even more surprised when she realized that she was leaning towards him, too. She could feel his warm breath on her forehead and smell the masculine scent of aftershave as he froze, his lips mere inches from hers.

"Sue," he said slowly, making sure that his mouth was within her view. He continued hesitantly, "May I please kiss you?"

Sue's mind seemed to have gone numb as she met his gaze again and slowly but resolutely nodded her head and formed the sign for _yes _with her hand. Jack closed the small distance between them before he lost his nerve and captured her lips with his own. The kiss was careful and gentle at first, but when Sue did not draw away, he deepened it. Resting his hands on either side of her jawbone and neck, his chest fairly burst at the realization that she was not pulling away and had slipped her hands up and curled her fingers around his forearms.

Jack pulled away relunctantly, but did not release her. The explosions in his chest were nearly as painful as his heart attack had been, but this was a pain that he could love to live with. Resting his forehead against Sue's, he listened to the small sound of her uneven breathing and watched as her eyelashes fluttered up and down. Dropping one hand from her face, he allowed it to rest on her leg and made the sign for _I love you_.

Sue showed no sign that she had seen it for several moments and Jack began to feel an unbearable sense of disappointment. Just before he began to move away, Sue took his hand that still signed his feelings and lifted them to her lips. She kissed his fingers softly then replaced his hand over one of her own and distorted her fingers. Concentrating on the positions and shapes that her fingers took, Jack recognized the letters that they were forming and kissed her forehead again with renewed happiness when she finished fingerspelling the words _Jack I love you_.

However, their joyous peace was interrupted when Levi gave a sudden loud bark and Jack turned quickly to find David standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His face was drawn up in fury at the sight of his girlfriend sharing such an intimate moment with the man that he knew as her friend and colleuge...but Jack was angry, too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. They belong to Pax and Pebblehut. But then again the neighbor kid's toys were always much more fun to play with than your own. Please tell me if you think this is still worth reading or if I need to change my direction. Thank you!**

**Ok, I know this one is short, but I really just wanted to try and focus on the main part of this chapter. I hope you like it and I'll post again soon; if not tonight then tomorrow. I have the goal for the story in my head but it's the getting there that's coming a little slower. I just don't want to leave anyone hanging because I know that drives me crazy! haha**

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" David demanded loudly and Jack stood from his place on the couch to face him, his fists clenched at his sides.

By this time, Sue had become aware of David's arrival and she stood to her feet, as well. Jack could feel her gentle restrain on his arm with her hands, but his eyes still glared unflinchingly into David's. He felt an incredible urge to cause David as much physical pain as he had caused Sue emotionally, if not more; but, Sue's soft voice soon helped him to reign over the desire.

"David," Sue began, stepping forward slightly until she was in between the two men. "We both know what you were planning tonight; you should just go and we'll leave it at this."

"What are you talking about, Sue?" David spat, pulling his gaze from Jack's and narrowing his eyes onto the young blonde.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Sue surprised Jack out of his steely reserve by shouting and he turned to see the tears rolling down her face again. "I saw you sitting on that park bench with that woman! I saw you kissing her and I know about your plans to ditch me and go off to Bora Bora."

The stunned look on David's face was as though someone had just slapped him, but he soon reclaimed his former resentment. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about, Sue! I thought that you were deaf, not blind!"

"Don't you ever...!" Jack shouted, pushing Sue's hands away as she tried to hold him and closing the gap between them, his rage taking full control.

In a blind-rage, Jack reared his arm back with the intent to put as much force in the blow as possible, not seeing Sue leap between them again, only his target in his mind's eye.

"Jack, please, no!"

Sue's desperate cry snapped Jack back to the present situation and he realized that, though it was David's shoulder in his crushing grasp, it was Sue that was holding her arms in front of her face for protection. Matters were only made worse when Jack found that he was uncertain if he had actually struck her or not.

"Oh, my God! I'm sorry!" Jack prayed instantly, unsure of whose forgiveness he wanted more. "Sue...I'm so sorry!"

Snatching his hands away, they drifted in the air between him and Sue; he wanted so badly to hold her and comfort her but was terrified that he had hurt her. A small amount of relief washed over him, however, when Sue reached for his hands with her own and fell into his chest.

Jack felt as though his chest was tearing in two; one side longed to hold Sue and kiss her tears away while the other still wanted to lash out at David for causing the tears in the first place. A sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"Don't touch me!" Sue yelled again, turning around furiously and slapping David's hand the had reached for her away.

"Listen, Sue," David began. "I cheated on you; you cheated on me. We can get over this...let's just forget it ever happened and just..."

"No," Sue returned quietly and this time Jack allowed her halting hand on his arm to stop him, afraid that his temper would cause a replay of the past few minutes. "Just leave, David. Just leave now and don't try to make things better or worse. You know as well as I do that this little game we've been playing is over. Go to Bora Bora."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I still can't take credit for these lovely characters, but please let me know what you think of my use of them anyways. Thank you.**

Jack sat on the sofa in the thick silence of Sue's apartment, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. His mind was reeling a hundred miles an hour and his anger and worry made him feel as though he were on the verge of tears. As soon as David had left, Sue left him in the livingroom without a word and disappeared into the bathroom; the next thing that he heard was the running water of the shower.

_"How could you be so stupid?" _Jack raged at himself, internally. _"How could you upset her like this?"_

It had been torturing him since the very moment that he saw Sue with her hands held up, trying to defend herself from his anger. The sight of her at that moment kept replaying and replaying itself in his mind and he felt as though someone were twisting a knife in his stomach every time. How could he have let that happen? What was worse was the fact that he, in all honesty, did not know if he had swung his fist. He prayed and prayed that he had not, but the terrible fear that he could have possibly hurt Sue in more ways than one was eating away at him from the inside out.

Suddenly, the loud creak and groan of old pipes resounded through the walls as the water was shut off and Jack heard Sue moving around in the bathroom. He could hear the faint sound of soft gasping and sniffling and his heart sank even further down into his stomach. He had not known whether he should stay or go; but he knew that he had to talk to her, he could not leave things as they were for even one night.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door clicked open and Sue appeared in the doorway of the livingroom again with Levi at her feet. She seemed taken aback when she saw Jack stand from his place on the couch and walk around it, coming to a halt just feet away from her.

"Jack," she breathed. "You're still here."

"I...I'm sorry, Sue. I'm so sorry for earlier," Jack apologized desperately, feeling only a little relief when he carefully looked her face over and saw no signs of a bruise or redness. "Please, just talk to me for a few minutes."

Sue nodded silently and recieved the shaking hand that he offered her and allowed him to lead her to the couch. Sue sat down on the edge of the couch, nervously wondering what Jack wanted to talk about. The whole night had been such a disaster; even the one wonderful thing that had come from it seemed to be overshadowed and ruined by a dark cloud of misery.

"Sue," Jack began, tapping her hand for her full attention and Sue was called away from her musings. "First...please tell me...did I hit you?"

"No, of course not," Sue answered, taking Jack's hand in both of hers and stroking his knuckles with her fingertips gingerly. "Jack, I..."

"Thank God...," Jack interrupted her quietly and Sue could see the tears that were forming in his eyes. "Sue...I swear...I would never hurt you. Please..."

"Jack," Sue stopped him gently with a small shake of her head. "I know that you would never hurt me. I know that Jack and I never thought for a moment that you would ever do anything to hurt me on purpose."

"But it was by accident that I almost hurt you earlier," Jack exclaimed, standing up quickly and beginning to pace the floor. "Sue , I almost..."

Sue stood, too, when he seemed unable to speak from his frustration and halted his pacings by stepping in front of him. She had been so afraid after she had left for a shower that Jack was upset, maybe even with her. But she had needed the time of seclusion to think and get her head straight. It was little less than astonishing to her that Jack was worrying about that little spiff instead of the fact that she was crying over two men for two completely different reasons.

"But you didn't, Jack," Sue reasoned, placing a gentle hand on his face. "And even if you did, I would have forgiven you immediately. You're only human, Jack, and I know that you would have never intentionally hurt me. You can't protect me from everything, Jack; not even you...not all the time. I know that you get angry, too...but you have to realize that it was me that stepped in front of you when you were obviously upset."

"Sue, that's no excuse," Jack groaned, allowing himself the small liberty of taking both her hands in his. "The point is that I lost my temper so badly; I've never done anything like that, I don't understand what made it so bad."

"You were angry about David," Sue reasoned patiently and Jack was beginning to feel like an upset two year old that had accidentally held his hampster too tightly while keeping it from the dog.

Jack nodded his head and felt Sue's hands slip out of his and slide around his sides. He pulled her into his arms and held her close, feeling ashamed of the tears of anger and frustration that escaped down his face, despite his efforts to hold them.

"Sue," he began, burying his face into her golden hair before kissing her head to get her attention. "Sue," he said again when she looked at him. "I love you."

_I know_, Sue signed back with a gentle smile. She pulled her arms away but remained close for her to hold him. _I love you too._

Smiling, Jack leaned down again and kissed her lips. All their troubles seemed to melt away again to be dealt with another time. Sue's hands drifted up his chest and rested on his shoulders as she leaned into him and he pulled her even closer.

"There's just one thing that I want to make clear," Jack said very seriously when they parted for oxygen. "Now you're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere but wherever you go until you either send me away or I die. Don't you ever worry...I promise."

_I'm going to hold you to that_, Sue signed in response with a somewhat watery smile. _And you know that it is a federal offence to hurt a F.B.I. agent. _

"Yeah...but you just remember that, in our case, that's a two way street," Jack laughed and signed at the same time.

"Oh!" Sue breathed as though a new thought had just struck her. "We need to talk to Garrett."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I cannot lay claim to a thing, but thanks for reading anyways. Please let me know what you think and what I may want to reconsider. **

**Also, I offer my apologies for taking so long to update. Please just lay the blame on the 33 vicious technology-hungry viruses that were attacking my poor defenseless computer. It's still a little traumatized but seems to be recovering from the shock one day at a time. :) Thank you!**

**Now...enough of my babbling and on with the next chapter.**

Jack stepped out of the elevator, several files balanced precariously in one hand while to topmost lay open as he read over its contents. It was a confusing case, to say the least; what with all of the people it seemed to involve but none holding any real significance.

"A lovely morning to you all," Myles's annoyingly jovial greeting interrupted him in mid-yawn as he entered the bull pen. "Ah! Jack, our illustrious leader, just the man I wanted to see!"

"Why is it that the fact that you want to see me this early in the morning makes even an ex-sniper and ex-lawyer special agent of the F.B.I. very nervous?" Jack said sarcastically, pulling on a false expression of confusion and addressing the bullpen, in general.

"Oh, ha-ha-ha," Myles returned with equal sarcasm as Tara, Lucy, Bobby, and Demetrius began snickering from their desks. "Don't flatter yourself, Hudson, it was simply a saying. I have no desire to see your homely face so very early to ruin the rest of my day. To be more accurate, I need to speak to you."

The snickers rose a little louder and Jack held up the files in his hand in defeat. "Alright, just let me get settled in for a minute before the onslaught, please."

"I don't know, Sparky," Bobby called from his desk as Jack dropped the files on his desk. "It's much easier to take advantage of your partially-conscious state...rather tempting, even if you are my best mate."

"Jack, quick!" Tara chimed in, cocking an eyebrow and leaning forward as though he were being interrogated. "Who killed Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sofie in Sarajevo, Bosnia?"

"He wouldn't know that if we gave him five minutes on the internet to figure it out," Lucy quipped nonchalantly, organizing documents into their files in the cabinet beside her desk.

"Do you know who is was, Lucy?" D questioned and Lucy's smile immediately dropped and she glared at him, daring him to press the issue.

"Allow me, my simple-minded friend," Myles patted Jack on the shoulder. "The assassins name was..."

"No, no, no," Jack halted him, stepping forward. "Allow me to redeem myself. His name was Gustavo Princip...he was a young radical in the beginning of World War I."

Tara immediately regarded her computer and typed furiously for several seconds as the room waited with bated breaths.

"Huh!" Tara relented, finally. "He's right! I didn't even know that much about him."

Jack raised his hands up in the air, inclining his head in a modest bow. "It was nothing, really. I took a few history classes in college...consisting of Western and Eastern Civilization and American History."

"Did you just say something about American History?" Sue asked, entering the room and coming to stand a Jack's side while Levi went to rest by her desk where he knew Bobby would sometimes hide treats in the form of doughnut or candybar pieces. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Jack was just trying to prove that he's worth more than his gun and brawn," Myles answered but moved to quickly for Sue to catch what he said.

He grabbed Jack by the shoulder again and began to steer him from the bullpen out in to the hallway as Jack saw Tara wave for Sue's attention and recognized enough signs to know that she was telling Sue the whole story.

"Ok, Jack," Myles began after shutting the door to one of the conference rooms and turning back to regard his colleague. "I know that this isn't my usual forte, but if something is going on...as I have suspected since last week...perhaps I can help you with your predicament."

Jack felt almost floored at this sudden statement but he did his best not to show any comprehension; he could not be sure if he was talking about him and Sue or something else that only Myles Leland III would possibly think up.

"Alright, Jack, I'll be blunt," Myles continued when Jack offered now reply.

"Oh, yeah, because we all know how much you hate doing that," Jack said with a humorous smile.

"Are you and dear, sweet, little Ms. Thomas seeing each other in an even less professional way than you have been since she came here?" Myles asked, ignoring his attempt to joke.

"W...what makes you think that?" Jack evaded, clinging to the last fibers of their secret by the nails.

Myles fixed him with an I-can't-believe-you-think-that-would-work look. "Jack, I'm not as thick as everyone around here seems to think I am. I just choose to ignore people's personal problems for my own sake. But...as it is...I happen approve of your and Ms. Thomas's little escapade."

Jack looked around the room briefly, his mind racing. Finally, he met Myles's expectant and impatient gaze.

"How can you help us?" Jack finally gave in, stepping towards him conspiratorially and shoving his hands into his suit jacket.

A smug and mischievious smile broke over Myles's face and he leaned against the wall as though relaxing at Jack confession. "So I was right. How did you con our dear honest-Abe Susan Thomas into breaking policy?"

"We were trying to figure things out...it's complicated," Jack stammered. He hated it that Myles had the upper hand on him...and he had given it to him!

"Why is it that everyone forgets that Lucy and I dated for quite some time?" Myles asked the ceiling tiles. Then he looked back to Jack. "It is all in how you manipulate the situation...Lucy and I were in the same unit at the time and the higher-ups knew, but they had no problem with it."

"Lucy's a rotor," Jack reasoned. "She's not going to be in dangerous situations that would have hampered your judgement or actions."

"True," Myles conceded, crossing an ankle over the other and crossing his arms over his chest. "But let me ask you this: If you and Sue were not officially dating and someone put a gun to her head during a raid or something, would you do all in your power to save her? Even if it was irrational and stupid, but pure instinct?"

Jack thought about this for several seconds and finally comprehended Myles's point. "Yes, I would."

"Would such actions to save your friend and work partner put others at risk?" Myles pressed on.

"Yes," Jack answered. "But every raid puts all agents at risk."

"Good," Myles said as though that settled the matter. "Now keep all of that in mind when you decide to go speak to Garrett and the other bureaucratic windbags that we are forced to call our superiors."

With this, Myles turned and exited out the way he had came, leaving behind a thoughful Jack with some renewed hope.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Alright, I confess...I'm a theiving rascal and I stole these characters from Pax and Pebblehut. I won't harm or defile them, I solumnly swear.**

**I just want to say a quick thanks to PJ for your review. It's so good to be back and able to enjoy my guilty little pleasure of a hobby. Now...onward!**

"Jack," Demetrius called just as Jack returned to the bullpen and Jack's head snapped up at the sound. "Just in time, we were waiting for you for the briefing."

Jack nodded his head silently, forcing the thoughts that Myles's suggestions had brought forth onto the backburner. He could feel Sue's eyes on his as he brushed by her on his way to his desk, but for some reason he found himself unable to meet them. Grabbing a few sheets out of a manila file, he began posting pictures on the whiteboard.

"Ok, everyone," he began, pulling on his cheery Jack and Sparky, best friend voice. "We have been assigned to the Grape Vine Plantation case. It..."

"Umm...I'm sorry," Sue interrupted quietly with a small wave of her hand and her neck strained a little to see his lips. "Did you just say GRAPE VINE PLANTATION case?" she asked, fingerspelling the name.

"Yes," Jack answered. "It..."

"I thought that was a resturant down on Lincoln St.," Bobby interrupted him again.

"It is," Tara went on. "They have the best soup..."

"Alright, moving on from minestrode soup," Jack said a little loudly, calling back their attention. He pointed to the picture of a man with olive-toned skin and dark hair that was beginning to recede. "This is Francisco Berrinili. Owner of the Grape Vine Plantation resturant in D.C. and suspected leader of a very large but very stealthy money laundering operation."

"Huh, never saw that one coming," Tara commented from her place beside Sue, perched on the edge of Jack's desk. "And to think that I've spent money there once."

"You?" Myles asked in disbelief. "I've been there several times and never did I think that I may be playing the patron to the very kind of people that I make a live of stopping."

"Calm down, Harvard," Bobby repremanded him playfully and grabbed his arm as though he were going to charge. "You didn't know...none of us did. We promise not to through you in the pokey."

"I don't," Sue added with a half-smile and Jack could not take his eyes off of her briefly.

"Everyone...please?" D asked, indicating Jack with outstretched hands.

"Thanks," Jack nodded to him with a crooked grin of his own when his eyes finally met Sue's. He pointed to the second picture on the board. The man was significantly younger than the first, but there was an obvious resemblance in the tone of skin and facial features beneath his black hair. "And this, is Gabriel Berrinili, Franscico's only child. Gabriel is United States born but claims Italy as his true homeland and place of loyalty."

"Is Franscico a U.S. citizen?" Demetrius asked, regarding the file that they had each been given.

"He recieved his citizenship two years after Gabriel was born," Jack answered.

"Ummm...if Gabriel was United States born and Franscico gained his citizenship, there would be a mother thrown in there somewhere, I'm guessing?" Sue asked, looking around at all of team but her eyes resting on Jack's.

"Correct!" Jack exclaimed, pointing a finger playfully at Sue, all the worries and thoughts from the conference room exchange successfully put out of his mind, for the moment. "Anyone care to give a guess for the grand prize?"

He tapped on the last picture on the board with his four fingers. The woman shown looked very familiar to them all. Her bleached blonde hair was pulled back in a half ponytail as her pin-tight curl framed her face.

"Diana Grove...but, I didn't even know she was married," Sue said in disbelief, speaking the thoughts on everyone else's minds.

"None of us did," Jack agreed, stepping away from the board toward his desk.

He had to lean over Sue to reach another file that he needed, but even he knew that he didn't need to lean quite as close as he did. He had to push it from his mind for now, they were at work, they had to be professional and secretive. He exchanged a swift look with Sue that spoke volumes but nobody seemed to notice it when he went back to the center of the circle...nobody but Myles, anyway, who was shaking his head with a cocky smile.

"She always used the title Miss," Jack began to list off, pulling out Diana Grove's records. "She apparently married Berrinili while in Italy with the military at the age of eighteen. They had their son Gabriel while she was still stationed at Tuscany Airforce Base. When she was honorably discharged for medical reasons, she returned to the U.S.. Naturally, her husband and child were not far behind her, though illegally."

Jack stopped briefly and looked around at all the faces of their team, curious to see their reactions to the new discovery of the woman that they had all known for years. Bobby was shaking his head slightly, his brows furrowed and his jaw tight...Jack happened to know that Bobby had dated Diana for a quick week or two about three years before. Sue was watching Jack intently, afraid to miss something, even though he always stayed in her line of vision by habit now. Tara and Lucy both had wide-eyed expressions that reminded him of deer in the headlights back in Wisconson. However, Myles and Demetrius did not seem all that surprised, at all; Myles leaned against his desk as though this were any other normal case and D was sipping out of the mug of coffee that he had just made.

"How did she get away with being married for years without anyone knowing it?" Bobby finally asked and Jack could fairly see the mist about him as he steamed.

"Nineteen years, to be exact," Jack answered, setting the files on Lucy's nearby desk and slipping out of his suit jacket. "Gabriel Berrinili just turned eighteen years old two months ago, June 23. As for how she hid it, simple; she was married outside of the United States and by an Italian minister off base. Italian law is a little more relaxed when it comes to U.S. Airmen...or Airwomen, as the case may be...so she may have never informed the proper authorities. Then, the dominos began to fall and the United States government was unaware of her legal and holy state of matrimony."

"Oh, isn't marriage just bliss?" Myles quipped sarcastically, finally causing smiles to break over the teams faces.

"So, do you think that she planned on illegal operations with her husband from the beginning?" Tara asked, fitting the end of her ballpoint pen between her teeth and twisting it with her forefinger and thumb.

"I don't think so," Jack answered, shaking his head. The surprised expression on everyone else's face did not go unnoticed and he explained himself. "When you're a young woman that has just joined the military, they don't look very kindly on you running off and marrying...especially a non-U.S. citizen. It makes significant changes in legalities and their alotted budget for that military member. She probably feared reprocussions. When she got pregnant, it was no big deal. It's always been a controversial issue in the military whether or not women should be allowed to become impregnated within a certain time frame...once she was pregnant, there was really nothing they could do about it; but, if they found out that she had sneaked around and gotten married...then there would have been consequences."

The room fell silent after that speech as everyone pondered their own thoughts. Jack chanced a look at Sue and found her eyes meeting his. He gave her a swift, almost undetectable wink, and smiled crookedly at her for a moment. He saw her face blush a little bit as she bit her lip lightly in that innocent little way that had always fascinated for some reason...it was like watching a beautiful woman with the innocent of a little girl looking for Tinker Bell among the fireflies.

"I just can't wrap my head around it," Tara said, still looking very shocked at everything that had developed. "Diana Groves...cheif of the Washington D.C. police...our little occasional sarcastic comrade-in-arms."

"Well said," Myles tipped an invisible hat to her. "I have to admit that I never even saw something like that coming from her; though, there always was something a little off about her."

"Oh, please," Lucy rolled her eyes. "You just never liked her because she thought that you were a pompous idiot with bad jokes."

"She has poor taste," Myles returned, shrugging his shoulders as though it made perfect sense. "That should be more than enough reason not to like someone."

"Alright, you two, want to give a rest already?" Bobby asked from his chair at his desk, annoyance still written all over his face as he pushed himself left to right in his swivel-chair with his leg.

Lucy and Myles fell silent, but both seemed a little taken aback. Jack was the only that had know about Bobby and Diana's little trial run and he felt bad for Bobby; he had honestly thought that maybe Bobby was considering asking her to try again, if only to try and forget Darcy's leaving four months before hand.

"So...what's our next plan of action?" Demetrius asked, pushing the conversation onward in the direction that it needed to be going.

"We can't let them know that we're investigating them," Jack answered, his mind reeling with everything that needed to happen to make this case successful. "No face to face confrontations or anything that would look suspicious to them...Diana does this stuff everyday and she would know how to evade us and cover their tracks. For now...I say we go with surveillence."

"And how may we do that, oh, mighty leader?" Myles asked with an expression that told Jack that he was very bored with his ideas.

"Anyone up for an early lunch? Courtesy of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation," Jack asked, holding out his hands to catch any offers; he was genuinely surprised when Bobby did not make the slightest move to accept.

When nobody else made any inclinations to join him, but turned around as though he were no longer there, Sue pushed off of the desk and reached for her coat and bag.

"Sure, why not?" she said, fitting Levi's leash on his collar. "I love having an Italian lunch at nine-thirty in the morning...that way I get to smell like garlic all day instead of just part of it."

**P.S.-I have no idea where exactly I'm going with this, but I'm sure I'll get there soon. This story kind of has a mind of its own and has completely deviated from the plan! Grrr... But I hope you're enjoying it anyway...who knows? Maybe it'll be a nice surprise for you all as well as me.**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, they're Pax and Pebblehut's.

Also, thank you to Fanpire101, Anony-Mousy, and em52shorty, SailorJP, and irish4luck for your very kind reviews. I have basically hit a major writers' block with this one but now I feel a little inspired. Thank You! And also thanks to those that read.

P.S.- I always liked Diana Grove, too! I just wanted someone familiar to the show to work with and she seemed like a good candidate to play around with!

"Yeah, mate," Bobby said, walking up to the young man standing behind the host's podium. "I'd like to speak to your manager, pronto."

"Is there anything that I can help you with, sir?" Sue saw the blonde boy asked nervously, Bobby's tall form towering over him.

"Yeah," Bobby said, doing a very convincing job pretending to be angry. "Get your bloodly manager, Drongo!"

"Bobby does a good job at playing the bad guy," Sue observed, looking back at her menu quickly when the bullied youth saw her eyes on them. "But I feel sorry for the boy...he really didn't do anything."

"Eh," Jack muttered, looking up from the menu to look at Sue, nothing on paper seeming very appetizing. "He'll get over it...Bobby always tends to leave them a small tip to apologize. But I have to admit...it is one of the worst parts of the job. Having to see the looks on people's faces when you're pretending to be the kind of person that we make a life of stopping."

"I can imagine, but it's all for their own good in the...," Sue agreed in a quiet voice, carefully glancing back up to where Bobby stood just as the young host was returning from a back door with another man at his side. "Jack! It's Francisco Berinilli...no, don't look...he looks very angry...Jack, what is Bobby doing?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked in a worried whisper, holding Sue's hand to restrain her as she moved to stand up. "No, Sue! Stay there!"

Sue continued to try and pull away, but something told Jack not to let her go. He turned around in his seat just in time to see Francisco Berinilli pull a 38-caliber pistol from beneath the podium and raise it to Bobby's chest.

"No!" Jack shouted, leaping from his seat, pulling his own gun. "F.B.I.! Drop your weapon! Now!"

Either his demands came too late, or did not matter to Berinilli, or most probably a healthy mixture of both. The release of his pistol sounded like a thunderous crack in his ears when Berinilli pulled the trigger a second later and Bobby fell to the ground.

Jack felt as though someone had dropped a five ton weight on his chest as he saw his best friend fall to the ground. Sue ducked low and ran to him stealthily and the other inhabitants of the resturant began to scream and crawl beneath tables. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and Jack returned his gaze to Berinilli, only to see him now aiming his gun at Sue as she approached his victim, unaware of his warning shouts.

"No!" Jack shouted again, pulling the trigger of his own gun instinctually.

However, it was not only the release of his gun that resounded throughout the resturant, causing more screams.

Reaching the partially conscious but defenseless Bobby, Sue wrapped her arms under his shoulders and did her best to pull his heavy form under the nearest table. Looking back up briefly, she saw Berinilli fall to the ground, his torso and head just visible from behind the host podium. Blood was traveling quickly throughout the threads of his shirt, making a large bloodstain that began to color the floor as he blinking quickly in shock.

"Jack," Sue whispered to herself, assured that Bobby was safe now.

She leapt from beneath the table and pulled herself to her feet. Turning around quickly in her search for Jack, it was almost like watching a suspensful scary movie every time her eyes saw the expressions on the innocent witnesses faces.

"Jack!" Sue called, unable to spot him. She hurried back over to where they had been sitting, pulling the microphone on her collar to her lips. "Agent and suspect down! I repeat, agent and suspect down! Emergency ambulances needed!"

Tears began to pour over Sue's face when she reached down to retrieve what she recognized as a federally-assigned firearm. It was Jack's.

"It's ok, everybody," Sue managed to say through the terrible foreboding in her mind when she saw everyone's faces in her search for Jack. "We're with the F.B.I.. You can all stand up now and exit the building calmly. There may be some more agents and F.B.I. personel there to ask you all some questions."

As the crowd grew calmer and began to file out of the decorative glass doors, Sue felt her breathing become ragid as she sobbed. She finally spotted Jack, lying facedown on the ground next to where Levi stood barking madly. Sue hurried to the table that had previously been theirs and dropped to her knees beside Jack.

"Levi, hush, boy," Sue soothed him through her crying, gently pushing him to the side so that she could reach Jack's head that Levi seemed to be trying to protect.

She moved closer to Jack's still form and carefully rested a hand on pale face, reaching her other hand to his shoulder to turn him.

"Oh, God," Sue pray, sobbing again, an agonizing lump rising up in her throat and her chest feeling as though it would explode with the pressure. "God, please, no."

Blood was pouring from a large wound on his neck and Sue pressed her hand to it immediatly to try and staunch the blood, reaching around blindly for something more effective to use. Her hand brushed against her scarf on the table and she pressed it to his neck, the tears still falling as she struggled to keep herself thinking clearly.

"It's going to be ok," she whispered soothingly, unsure if she was comforting Jack's barely conscious form or herself more.

She felt a shaking hand reach for her and take hold of the back of her knee and Sue leaned forward and kissed Jack's cold forehead, unable to remove her hands from their occupation of trying to stop his bloodflow. His grip on the back of her knee tightened and the tears in her eyes nearly blinded her vision. Turning around desperately, she could see dark figures moving about busily where she had left Bobby and where Berinilli had been laying.

"Over here! Help!" Sue choked out, tightening her pressure on Jack's neck as the grip on her leg began to faulter some. "Another agent is down!"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: It isn't mine, no copyright infringement intended.

Thank you again for reviewing and/or reading this story.

Another sob escaped Sue just as two dark forms raced towards where she kneeled over Jack on the floor, mostly hidden behind a number of tables. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up quickly, but the tears in her eyes still blinded her from seeing what words were being spoken to her.

"Please, sir," Sue begged as she felt them gently pull her hands away from Jack's wounded neck, hoping that she was talking clearly. "Please, help him. I...he...he can't..."

She gave up on every attempt to speak when one of the paramedics reached for her face and began turning it from side to side, their hand on her wrist to check her pulse. Sue pulled her hand away and wiped up the tears with her sleeve as effectively as possible, shaking her head at the paramedic.

"No," Sue said desperately, now able to watch them work on Jack clearly as two other paramedics carried over a gurney. "I...I'm not hurt. It's..."

"What's his name?" the paramedic asked.

"Special Agent Jack Hudson," Sue answered, feeling completely distracted and impatient with all the questions; they were wasting time. "And the man...under the table there...his name is Special Agent Bobby Manning. We're with the F.B.I.."

The paramedic nodded briefly and Sue saw him face the other medical personel with orders and directions, but could not concentrate enough to identify the words said. A clear plastic mask now covered Jack's mouth and nose and the paramedic at her side pulled away his hand away from her leg, tearing away what little comfort his soft grip offered. Sue watched as three men moved to Jack's still form, one at either end and one on the side, and lifted him onto the gurney.

"I want to ride with him, please," Sue requested shakily, brushing away more tears and struggling to her feet.

"I'm sorry," the paramedic answered, not even looking at Sue but turned just enough so that she could see his lips. "But we only allow immediate family to ride with patients, not coworkers."

"Please...you don't...understand," Sue tried to say over a sob, her knees shaking and her body seeming to go cold as she followed them towards the doors.

But they would not listen; the pushed past the decoractive glass door to reveal the outside world and Sue followed them. The sidewalk were crowded and moving busily as F.B.I. people and medical personel ran about, conducted various tasks. As soon as she exited out into the bitterly cold snow, Sue felt herself being continuously bumped into and mulled over as the several witnesses of the confrontation either tried to see more or leave the scene.

The large painful lump in Sue's throat grew and made her feel sick as the medical personel pushed through the crowd and Sue followed them again; desperation was more her encourager than determination.

As she drew up behind them just as they made it to the ambulance, the two large doors were swung open and the three paramedics lifted the gurney into the back.

"Listen lady." The paramedic that she had spoken to before turned on her aggravatedly. "You can't ride...if you want to do your colleague a favor, get out of here and let us do our job. We do have visiting hours at the hospital, you know."

The pain already present from her worry over Jack elevated at the man's outburst. However, a hand on her elbow pulled her attention away briefly and she looked up beside her to see Demetrius standing over her.

"...do not talk to her that way again, do you understand?" Demetrius was saying, his expression furious. "What kind of man wouldn't let a woman ride to the hospital with her wounded fiance?"

"She didn't tell me she was his fiance," the man argued, backing down slightly at Demetrius furious and stately stance and build.

"I've watched," Demetrius countered, sighing the word UP to Sue. "You didn't give her the chance to speak."

He tightened his grip on her elbow and put a hand on her back to help her into the back of the large van. Sue squeezed his hand briefly, unsure how else to thank him through her muddled mind. She hurried over to Jack's side and looked down on his pale form, his eyes now closed as the machine did the work of breathing for him.

"Ma'am," a young female paramedic said to her, catching her attention with a small wave of her hand and then pointing behind Sue. "You can sit down there if you like."

Sue nodded and took the seat obediently, her eyes remaining on Jack's face. Her breath stood still in her chest and the tears continued to fall over her cheeks silently as the medical people in their blue uniforms worked quickly. Finally, the back doors were shut and Sue felt the movement beneath her as the engine came to life and the ambulance began to move forward.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Not mine

Thank you so much to SailorJP, cheliosfan, and mo9526 for your reviews and thank you to those still reading this.

Sue pulled her head up from its resting place on her hands, her fingers pressed together to keep them from shaking. She could not hear the ominous beeping or dinging, but the flashing lights and fluctuating numbers on the screens caused her the same sensations of foreboding and worry. Her mind could not rest, her heart could not stop racing. The only comfort that was afforded her was the allowance of being able to watch his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, a long clear tube protruding from his throat to allow him clean oxygen.

The soft sob that she had held captive in her chest forced its way forward and she pulled her chair closer to the bed and reached a hand to his. His skin was cold and clammy; the palor of his flesh paled to a ghostly tint.

"Jack," she whispered, her voice shaky in her throat as she squeezed his hand gently in both of hers and lowered her lips to his icy knuckles. "Please...hang in there, honey. Please...don't give up now. You...you've...you've never given up. Please, honey...I love you...please stay with me."

A gentle touch on her shoulder startled her from her silent pray and pulled her head away from were it now rested on the mattress, Jack's hand pulled close to her face. Sue turned around quickly in surprise to find Demetrius standing over her, yet again.

"Sue," he said carefully, offering her the handle of a leash and a black purse. "You left these at the Grape Vine Plantation. Levi got a little upset and was hiding under one of the tables when I found him...once he recognized me,Myles, and Tara I think he calmed down a bit, though."

Sue breathed heavily again, the oxygen tearing at her throat as Levi started licking her arm and she pulled one hand away from Jack's to pull the Golden Retriever closer to her and envelope him in a hug.

"Thank you, D.," Sue tried to smile, but it quivered back into a depressed frown. She turned away and lowered her head to her elbow, trying not to allow Demetrius to see her tears. "Thank you...for everything. I...I...I don't...think that they would have let me ride...if you hadn't said anything."

Demetrius tapped on her knee briefly to gain her attention, kneeling down beside her chair. Sue brushed away the remaining moisture from her cheeks and tried to restrain the tears that still fought her composure.

"I would do it again in a hearbeat," Demetrius smiled softly, squeezing her shoulder in one of his large hands. He remained silent for a moment, looking up at his wounded comrade in the hospital bed. After a moment, he inclined his head toward Jack, the movement catching Sue's attention. "You love him, don't you?"

Sue said nothing in reply, somewhat startled at his blatant question. Surely even Demetrius did not know; Jack and she had determined between themselves to keep their relationship a complete secret for the present, until decisions could be reached with the higher-ups. Another tear slipped past Sue's lashes and she turned back to Jack, too emotionally overtaken to respond.

"Sue," Demetrius said softly and understandingly, pulling her attention back to himself with another squeeze on her shoulder. "It's ok...I know. Not that Jack said anything...but it's not that hard to figure out. Lucy keeps complaining that you're never home anymore and stopped calling as much to let her know where you are...Jack doesn't answer his phone when any of us call when he usually picks up immediately. Sue...are you and Jack seeing each other? I assumed...but I would rather know for sure than make decisions on assumptions."

Sue looked back down at Demetrius's understanding, fatherly face where he knelt down beside her. If she could trust anyone to keep it a complete secret, it was Demetrius. Slowly she nodded her head, unable to tame her emotions or tears any longer.

"We...we started see...seeing each other...about three weeks ago," Sue answered in a gasping sob, allowing all of her sorrow to overwhelm her as D. pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her, hugging her in the one-armed way that her father used to. "W...when...we saw David in the park."

"Wait," Demetrius said, his expression hardening as he caught Sue's attention again by pushing her away gently. "What do you mean when you saw David in the park?"

"He...he was with a woman," Sue relented, the memory still cold on her heart, only warmed by the thought of the good that it had led to. However, now that good was quickly fading from her mind as he lay in the glass-walled ICU hospital room. "It was when we were still dating...it's a long story. We happened to see him when we were walking past...and Jack came over that night. We...I mean...it just...it just happened...and now we're together."

Demetrius's face seemed to be a strange mixture of anger and contentment, much like Sue's heart had been on that night more than three weeks ago and still remained. Sue subconsciously tightened her grip on Jack's fingers and moved her other hand to Demetrius's broad shoulder.

"I love him, D.," Sue confessed, the overwhelming pain taking over her again at the thought of where they were and why. "What am I going to do...if he...doesn't make it?"

"You mean 'what are _we _going to do?'" Demetrius corrected, pushing the information about David's betrayal to the back of his mind and thanking God that it had ended up with them the way that they were. "We're with you...the whole team. You're not going to have to worry about him alone."

Sue nodded her head again and leaned down into Demetrius's hug, resting her head on his shoulder. He patted her back gently before carefully pushing her away and giving her a bracing and fatherly smile. Standing to his feet, he rested his hand on her head before turning away towards the door, not wanting to intrude on his coworker and her wounded heart and partner any longer.

"Demetrius," Sue called before he opened the glass door. "How is Bobby?"

"He's going to be alright," Demetrius answered, turning back to her. It pained him to give her such good news when she was suffering through the terrible worry that Jack could possibly leave her on this earth, but he knew that it was not in Sue's nature to upset by someone else's good fortune; Bobby was her and Jack's friend and she would be relieved and happy by it. "He's awake...just in a bit of pain...but you can bet that he's giving the doctor a run for his money whenever he is conscious."

"I'm glad," Sue smiled, though small and shakily. "Say hello for me? I feel really terrible that I haven't been to see him yet."

"Don't worry," Demetrius instructed her, pulling the door open but pausing before exiting, a small smile playing on his lips, though he tried to stop it. "That's where I've just come from. Tara, Lucy, and Myles are down there right now. I asked him if he wanted me to send you up for a bit...he said that he would shoot me as soon as he found out where we hid his gun if I dared."

A real smile and laugh wrenched from Sue's chest, painful and pleasant at the same time. "Tell him I'm so glad that he's ok," Sue requested. "And tell him that I'll be up to see him in a bit...but only if he holds on the threats."

Demetrius nodded his approval and turned away. Sue watched him briefly through the crystal clear glass walls as he walked down the hallway.

"You see, Jack?" Sue said, the tears returning as she turned back to his comatose form, seeing Levi move to the bottom end of the bed and curl up out of the corner of her eye.

She carefully lifted herself from the chair and situated herself by his side on the bed, making sure not to disturb any tubing or wires. Another tear fell down her cheek and darkened the light yellow fabric of his medical gown into a darker gold. Her slender form just fit in the vacant space beside him and she rested against his side, lying her head on his shoulder.

Demetrius had assured her that she would not be alone, but, at that moment, she had never felt more alone. It would not effect Jack, she determined inwardly. She had once seen someone say that unresponsive people could sometimes still hear and she was trusting and banking on that for the last fibers of her sanity.

"We all love you...you...you can't give up," Sue finished, the weariness of her body tiring her physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Please, honey...please...don't leave me here alone."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Thank you for reading and please review. Haven't updated in a little while, sorry...having some bad writers' block.

"Hey, Sue," Bobby said a little weakly, grabbing her elbow for her attention. "Just a minute...please?"

Sue looked back up to Lucy and Tara as they followed Myles and Demetrius out of the door of Bobby's hospital room and nodded for them to continue.

_I call_, Sue signed to Lucy urged her onward again with an inclination of her head.

"What's up?" Sue asked with a forced cheerfullness when Lucy signed her _yes _in return and she turned back to Bobby.

"How are you doing, sheila?" Bobby asked, his eyes serious, unfooled by Sue's facade. "How...how's...Jack?"

"He's stabilized," Sue answered, holding on to the last threads of her reserve, trying her utmost to fight the quivering of her lip by catching it with her teeth. She gave another faux smile. "Dr. Perkins...says that he was lucky...that the bullet only caused minimal damage...for this sort of case."

"How...how...does it look?" Bobby asked again, adverting his eyes to the blue blanket spread over him, pulling at a snagged thread. "I mean...did the doctor...give...umm, say...what his chances are?"

Another tear slipped down Sue's cheek as she strangled the handle of Levi's leash in her hand, silently repremanding herself for her unchecked emotions. It was difficult to live it, to sit worrying through her every task, afraid that something would go wrong at any moment; it was much more difficult to talk about it, to try and explain the disheartening news to her friend, to Jack's best friend.

"The...the doctor said," Sue answered, chancing a glance at Bobby's bowed head after a moment of contemplative silence. "He said that his chances of survival are...about...about forty percent. His chances of a full recovery...about twenty."

Looking back up for Bobby's reply, Sue had to cock her neck uncomfortably to see his turned head clearly enough to see him swear horribly in frustration. She felt Levi's head nudge against her and reached down to pat him affectionately, her eyes remaining trained on Bobby's face.

"Damn it!" she could see Bobby's lips shout and cringed in surprise when he snatched pale pink ice pitcher from his side table and hurtle it across the room. "Damn it, Sparky! Oh, f_, Jack!"

"Bobby!" Sue breathed subconsciously in surprise and slight fear, unaware that the word actually passed her lips.

Sue's hand flew to her mouth to try and smother the sob that escaped her at Bobby's outburst. Tears fell down her face freely, blinding her vision with a watery veil and Sue felt her way backwards a foot or two to sit down on the window sofa. Fear, worry, and sorrow overflooded her heart and mind, all at once, and she felt as though she would quickly drown in it.

"Bobby," Sue begged unconsciously, clinging to the lapels of her blazer and pulling it closely around her, begging for something to hold on to before she lost herself in her agony. She could not do this any longer, she could not see the anger and rage in everyone's eyes when Jack was struggling just to stay alive. "Bobby...please. Please...don't."

Bobby looked down on Sue's fetal form, leaning her torso and head over her knees as she sat on the sofa, her soft words calling him back from his rampage. A horrible sense of guilt and regret fell over him just before the horrendous pain in his chest exploded again. Instinctively reaching for the call-button, Bobby realized that the hospital staff had beat him to it. Three or four nurses and nursing assistants flooded into the room at the chaos that he had caused and immediately crossed to his bed.

"Mr. Manning," the head nurse, Amelia, asked sharply, grabbing his IV tube and checking the water level in the bag over his head. "What's the problem?"

"Pain," Bobby managed after a minute, still watching through the pain as Sue cried into her hands on the sofa, unaware of the movements about her. "In chest."

A semi-rough hand grabbed at Sue's shoulder suddenly and she immediately jerked away, feeling as though someone may as well have slapped her. A woman of about her age was pulling upwards on her arm, obviously speaking, but her head turned backwards to Sue.

"Look at her when you speak...ah! She's...deaf," Sue saw Bobby instruct, his face drawn up in pain, but the nurse looked at her wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the nurse started over. "But you'll have to leave...we can't have him getting upset and if visitors cause it, then you'll have to come back later."

"But...please," Sue argued, gently pulling her arm out of the nurses strong grip, her mind only able to half concentrate on what she was saying. She still needed to talk to Bobby. "I have to..."

"Leave her," Bobby demanded forcefully, a great deal of the pain finally subsiding as the nurses calmed him down, cleaning up the ice and adjusting his medications. "She didn't do anything...leave her...for just a few minutes."

"Very well," Amelia relented after a moment of thought, grabbing Sue's hand and pulling her forward. "Just as long as you promise to keep your coworker calm...hey...aren't you the woman that has been sitting with the neck wound in ICU?"

"Yes," Sue answered, her mind still in a mess as she continued to try and dry her tears while handling the nurses' various questions and demands. "W...why?"

"Oh, the doctor just told me to let you know that they contacted Agent Hudson's family a few hours ago...they should be here any minute," Amelia answered, releasing both Sue's hand and the handrail of Bobby's bed.

"Al...alright," Sue answered, her brain working overtime to try and keep up.

"Sue," Bobby said, pulling her attention to him with a small wave of his hand as the hospital personel finally began to leave. _I'm sorry_, he signed. "I really wanted to thank you...that's what I really wanted to talk about. Myles...Myles and Tara said that you saved me when I was shot...said that you dragged me under a table or something."

Sue nodded her head slowly, completely taken aback by this sudden change in temper as Bobby went back to fondling the snagged string on his blanket, his face only slightly drawn up in discomfort. Bobby's questions had stolen away her reserve, his outburst frightened her, and his thanks confused her. A nagging headache was beginning to tear at her skull and she wanted nothing more than to return to Jack's room, curl up beside him for what comfort that offered to feel his heart beat beneath her palm, and cry out all of her frustration.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I cannot own it unless I'm quite a bit older than I thought I was.

Thank you very much for the kind reviews, they're a lovely encouragement! And also thank you very much for reading! :)

_"Given the choice between the experiance of pain and nothing, I would choose pain."_

_ -William Faulkner_

It was one of the few phrases from her childhood that she could recall quite clearly, having always linger in the farthest alcoves of her mind. It was one of the methods of comfort that her father had tested on her broken childs' heart when her grandmother and grandfather had passed away in a car accident.

Sue shifted in her chair slightly, slouching just enough to allow her head to rest on the back of the chair, while still holding Jack's hand in hers. A small and needy breath flowed through her chest, painful, but a sign that she was still alive. Her tears were spent, she could still feel the traces of them on her cheeks as she swallowed down an incompleted sob.

_Jack_, Sue signed, feeling too physically spent to speak, lest she should find the last vestiges of her tears. _It not fair. Why do I feel so horrible, when you the one that hurt? I sorry, Jack. I not want to lose you. I love you. I need you._

The same thoughts continued to turn over in her consciousness relentlessly, eating away at her from all angles. How could she sit here, watching as Jack Hudson lay there, clinging to his life by the grace of God? Why Jack? Jack was such a good man; he was good friend, a good agent, a good companion, a good half of her that made her feel whole. Why not her? She had been in the resturant, too; same table, same position, same distance...even more of an ideal target because she had dashed forth towards Berrinili. The one thought that Sue had never imagined even thinking, she could not stop herself from mulling over. Why would God do this to Jack when it could have so easily been her? An uncomfortable stirring deep inside of her told her that it was wrong to feel that way, that it was wrong to so blatantly doubt her Heavenly Father, but she could not help herself. Sue had never considered herself to be very brave, but now, sitting in utter desperation at Jack's side, she would had given anything to be in his place. She would have given anything to trade places, situations...Jack had so much that he could offer the world, so much good to him; all that she had was what Jack had given to her. Jack had found the faith in her to get her where she was today...why take away him and leave behind only his goodworks. It was not fair.

A quick movement in the corner of her eye had Sue's head snapping up to find several people filing through the glass door and into Jack's hospital room. A middle aged man and woman crossed immediately to Jack's bed as two men, around their thirties, and a woman of about the same age lingered more towards the foot of the bed. By the sight of them and the fact that they made no reply when Sue tried to get their attention by speaking, they were talking very loudly.

"Oh, my goodness," the older woman was saying, reaching hand down towards Jack's face and the other one moving to touch the bandage on his neck. "Oh, my baby Jack. Please talk to me."

"Ma'am!" Sue stood from her seat very quickly, pushing all other thoughts out of her mind as she watched who she guessed to be Jack's mother touch the bandage. "Please don't touch it!"

Sue could feel the eyes of everyone in the room turn on her as the woman looked up at her reprimand, her eyes teary but turning angry very quickly. The breath in Sue's lungs seemed to turn into a burning steam as her worry for Jack skyrocketed and her discomfort heightened at their glances.

"It...It'll start the bleeding again," Sue tried to explain when she regained some composure.

"And who are you exactly?" Mrs. Hudson asked, her eyes catching glimpse of their joined hands on the other side of the bed.

"I'm Sue Thomas," Sue introduced herself, the eyes on her feeling as though they would burn at any moment. She could feel Levi pawing at her leg and knew that he must have whined when everyone looked down at him and seemed very surprised. "And this is Levi...my hearing-ear-dog."

"Your what?" one of the younger men asked when Sue happened to look their way, her eyes passing over the younger lady that looked very familar.

"My hearing-ear dog," Sue clarified, noticing the looks on everyone's faces. "I'm deaf and he hears for me."

"They allow dogs in the hospital...even in the ICU?" the younger man asked again, his brows narrowed in confusion.

"Yes," Sue answered, twisting her fingers in Jack's hand again, trying desperately to sponge up some comfort or confidence. "Service dogs are allowed anywhere...but don't worry, he's very clean and he's never any trouble. He's trained to stay still and out of the way unless he's working."

"Umm...Sue?" the older man that Sue supposed was his father asked, reaching across the bed to touch her elbow. "I know that you don't know us and we really don't know you...so...do you mind giving us a minute with our son? His brothers and girlfriend would really like to have a minute with him."

Sue saw his words but was relunctant to believe that he had really spoken them. His girlfriend?

Sue turned back to where she knew that Allie was standing met her eyes, feeling the tears well up in her own as Allie looked her boldly in eye, almost challenging her to speak.

A horrible pain felt as though someone were suffocating her, cutting off all oxygen and tearing her away from Jack as they all stared at her. She really had no choice; she would not make a bad impression on Jack's family on their first meeting.

"I...I'll just...go down to the lobby then," Sue answered, forcing herself to pull her hand away from Jack's, feeling as though she were letting go of him forever. "I'll...just come back later then."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**Thank you to JaS2g and Fanpire101 for the reviews! And thank you, also to those reading and please review! :)**

_Sue what happen? _Lucy asked and signed simultaneously as she strode up to where Sue sat in the lobby, seeing the distress on her friends face as Tara hurried behind her. _You ok?_

_I ok_, Sue replied, moving over towards the edge of the bench that she was sitting on to provide room for them both.

"What's the matter?" Tara asked, coming to stand before the bench as Lucy hugged Sue and Sue fought against the tears that obviously wanted to come.

"Jack's...," Sue began, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself. "Jack's family just showed up about an hour ago."

"I thought that they were supposed to be here last night," Lucy said incredulously, looking between Sue's distraught face and Tara's confused one while making certain that Sue could see her lips.

"They were," Sue answered, finding some sense of composure and dabbing at her eyes with the handkerchief that Demetrius had given her the day prior. "But they just showed up and...and...they asked me to leave."

"They what?" Lucy asked as Sue's wide and worried eyes remained trained on her lips. "They can't ask you to leave! You've been sitting there with thier son for more than a day while they were late and they asked you to leave?"

"It doesn't seem fair does it?" Tara concurred, sitting down on Sue's other side and taking her hand to squeeze it comfortingly. "Why did they?"

"It doesn't matter why," Lucy said angrily, standing up from the bench and Sue sent up a silent prayer of thanks that the hospital lobby was mainly empty other than the occasional employee. "They have no right and I'm going up there to give them a little piece of my mind...that's my right."

"Lucy, please, don't," Sue begged, standing from her seat, feeling as though she would never breathe right again. "They..."

"They what?" Lucy asked carefully, calming herself at her friend's tearful implorement.

Sue did not want to admit it, not now. The agreement that she and Jack had made to keep things quiet until a decision could be reached kept burning in the back of her head. But the terrible emotions compounding themselves on her previous worry and fear were eating away at her insides to the point that she could no longer think clearly.

"They brought Allie with them," Sue finally relented, knowing that she would be unable to handle this on her own.

Looking between Lucy and Tara's faces while trying to maintain her composure with every calming breath, Sue could see the same expression come over them both. Pity and patience, understanding and sorrow for their friend.

"Sue," Lucy said calmy, reaching to pat Sue's arm. "I'm sorry. I know that it's difficult to see Allie at time like this...but...maybe she and Jack are..."

"No they're not," Sue stopped her, giving up their secret altogether for the sake of their understanding. The team deserved honesty at a time like this, especially when they had all done nothing but try their utmost to be there for her. Sue took a deep breath and swallowed it down slowly. "They're not...because Jack asked me to marry him two weeks ago...and I said that I would."

Sue had not met either of the women's eyes until her confession was made. First, her eyes met Tara's immediately sober and understanding gaze as Tara gave her a kind smile but nodded her head to show her condolences. However, looking to Lucy, she only saw the broad smile of a very excited woman as she laughed happily and grabbed Sue's hand to begin her congratulations. It was not until a single rebel tear escaped Sue's eye that the perception dawned on Lucy's face...soon changing to sadness...and then to anger.

"They," Lucy said and signed, her face directly at Sue's with all of it's anger. "Will not keep my best friend from being with her fiance at a time like this. Sue...you have got to go back...tell them what's going on!"

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that," Sue questioned in return, shaking her head, wishing that Lucy could just understand. "When they think that Allie is his girlfriend, no doubt, with some good reason to believe it...and when Jack cannot even come out of his comatose state? How am I supposed to convince them that their son and I have plans to get married in the spring? Am I supposed to just waltz in there and tell them that we were looking into the church on 5th Street for an April wedding?"

"Sue...," Lucy began, silencing her anger towards the unconsiderate Hudson family when she realized the true depth of Sue's desperation. "We could tell them. The whole team, plus Charlie and Troy, could vouch for the fact that you and Jack have been dancing circles around each other for years. They may not know...but we do."

"Lucy," Tara said quietly, pulling both Lucy and Sue's attention to herself for the first time, determined to play Sue's defender in this. She knew that Lucy would never mean anything but well for Sue, but she also knew that sometimes Lucy went about doing right in the wrong way. "I think what Sue is trying to tell us is that it won't be that simple. Jack's family has known Allie since she and Jack were in high school...obviously a close family friend. What are the chances of them taking the word of strangers' over hers?"

Sue forced a shaky smile at Tara, despite all of the sorrow in her protesting it; she, at least, wanted Tara to know that it was appreciated. The expression on Lucy's face transformed to sober understanding like Tara's once the difficulties were spelled out for her.

"Thank you," Sue said dryly, having no more tears to release, after several minutes of sitting in silence on the bench of a hospital lobby with her two best friends. "Both of you...for everyhing."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and no copyright infringement intended.**

**Thank you to Fanpire101, cheliosfan, b1212, em shorty, and JaS2g for your reviews and thank you, also, to anyone reading this story. **

**Kind of a short chapter, but informative for my purpose! :) Please read and review! **

"Regardless, Sue," Bobby said, his face telling Sue that his voice must have held an edge of great aggravation. "They can't keep you from seeing Jack! They can't dictate what you can and cannot know about your fiance!"

Sue rose from her seat beside Bobby's bed, stowing away her handkerchief in her pocket, and gently pushed Bobby back against the pillows. She saw only a slight wince of pain at the pressure of her hand, but something told her that Bobby barely noticed it.

"Bobby, calm down," Sue instructed emotionlessly, exhausted from all of the outrage of the team. She knew that they meant well; but, it was difficult enough to deal with everything happening without their continuous rantings and ravings. "You don't want to start the bleeding again."

"'The bleeding'? To hell with the bleeding," Bobby said, relenting against Sue's insistant pressure on his shoulders and lying back. "Sue, you have got be more insistant with them! I've met Jack's family, quite a few times, and I know how they can be. They...get this...prejudice about them that they won't give up until you show them that you can play ball just as well as they can."

A tear fell over Sue's cheek again, very much against her will; that was all seemed capable of doing these days...crying and being completely useless to Jack. The whole team knew about her and Jack's engagement now, having thought it best to be open and honest with them before she fell apart from the pain and worry from the inside out.

"Sue," Bobby continued, taking her hand in his and squeezing it to raise her head up back to his face. "Look sheila...I know that it's hard. We all know how much you love Jack...probably better than either one of you do, sometimes. Go talk to family and politely ask them to be able to see him...then, if they say 'no', go to the doctor in charge and tell him what's going on. Sue...you have just as much right to be in that hospital room as they do. Jack's completely in love with you...has been for years...and he deserves to have you by his side, right now, even if he's not aware of it."

"Bobby," Sue answered, after a moment of silence while she tried to gather her thoughts and calm her nerves and shaking hands. "They called Allie his girlfriend...she was with them. Why would they call her that...or say that...if they didn't have something that would make them think that they were together?"

"You listen here, now, sheila," Bobby said clearly, his face growing more and more aggitated as he struggled to sit up to Sue's level. "Jack would never cheat on you...that's not Jack. He's in love with you and if you could even think that..."

"No, no," Sue explained, looking through the fog of moisture in her eyes as it grew denser and more impentrable. "Bobby...I know that Jack would never do that. It's just...maybe...they were never fully informed that it was over. Maybe...Allie thinks that it's still in the 'maybe' stages and...told his family that."

"Sue," Bobby replied, sitting back some as he relaxed his physical and mental tension. "Allie...can come off as a nice girl, for quite a while. But I've known her in spats from the time I met Sparky and the last time that she was around when Jack had his heart attack...I saw some of her true colors. Sue...Allie can be a cruel, calculating, witch with the best of them when she's not getting what she wants. She thinks that, since they dated throughout high school and on and off over the years since then, that she has some sort of claim on him. Sheila...I heard him talking to her on the phone one night when he was over my place watching the game. They were fighting and from the sounds of what Jack said, he was telling her that it was over and that he wasn't playing games anymore."

Sue watched Bobby's lips in silence, taking in what he said and letting it calm her as much as it could. In all honesty, his word were comforting, to an extent; Sue had never doubted Jack, but she had never dreamed that Jack's family could be so very opposite in nature from Jack, either.

"Sue," Bobby tapped her hand again. "Please...Sparky needs you in there with him and you need him. We all love you, Sue, but face the fact that Jack didn't come from the most agreeable of families. Don't punish him for what his parents and brother say or do...please, go talk to them."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line and anything unrecognizable from the show.**

**Thanks very much to JaS2g and Huck05 for your reviews and, also, to anyone reading this story. **

Sue took in a deep and ragid breath as she slowly made her way down the ICU corridor, her eyes set firmly on the glass door where she knew that Jack lay comatose. _Dear, God, _she prayed silently, finding that her fingers were moving along as they lightly covered her nervous stomach. _Dear God, please be with Jack...please help me._

The rythmic movement of her feet at the bottom of her line of vision did nothing to steady or organize the spamic flutterings in her chest. Coming to a halt beside the nurses' station about four yards away from the glass door of Jack's observation room, Sue watched in hesitation as the people within it moved about.

Mrs. Hudson sat resting in the chair that she demanded Sue leave by the side of her son's bed, her hands lay folded in her lap and her eyes seemed to be lost in some point or wrinkle in the bedclothes. Mr. Hudson took a place by where his other two sons sat on either side of Allie on the window sofa, talking on the phone and seeming very aggitated...by some business or other from what Sue could see of his lips. Sue did not know Jack's brothers names, however, one's head was lying back against the window sill as he slept deeply while the other flipped through a biking magazine. Allie's phone was in her hands as her fingers flew over the keys as she composed a long text message.

Sue pulled her eyes away as her annoyance with them grew and they came to rest on Jack, his face as it had been the last time that she had seen him...deathly pale and his eyes sullen from even her view, the large thick bandaging on the left side of his neck. Two day. It had been two days since they had asked her to leave and told her that her presence in their son's room was not wanted. Two days and two nights that Sue had slept in either a waiting room chair and the next night on the sofa in Bobby's recovery room. Two day and nights since she had sent Levi home with Lucy to be fed and walked.

Even now, as she looked at him and saw the controlled numbers and lines on his monitors, Sue could not help but feel almost sick with worry. How could they just sit around him, seeing their son, brother, and "boyfriend" struggling to live, and spare him only enough attention to sit in close quarters with him while they conducted other business.

Swallowing down the anger in her chest, Sue tighten her grip around the handle of her purse and put her arms determinedly down at her sides; she would not look nervous or timid for this...she was beyond nervousness and timidness, she was angry and scared. Pulling one foot in front of the other, Sue closed the distance between her and the automatic sliding door of Jack's room.

She supposed that either the door or her footsteps made some sort of noise, because immediately upon her entering, every one of the Hudsons' and Allie's head rose toward her. She could also sense the impending tension as all five figures rose from their various perches when she crossed the room silently to Jack's beside opposite his mother, setting her purse against the wall on the floor and sitting precariously on the edge of the bedside table, making herself more comfortable for the stay.

"Excuse me, Ms. Thomas," Mrs. Hudson began, the first to pull Sue's relunctant attention to herself. "I thought that we made ourselves very clear before...Now you need to go. Leave our son's room before we call in security. Don' t make the mistake of thinking that we'll take pity on you the way our son does."

"And now, I'm going to make myself clear," Sue said uncharacteristically brazen, feeling the slightest of movements behind her as Jack's family and Allie came to stand around her and the bed. "I am going to stay in here. You have no right to make me leave and I am not going to."

"Family can dictate the visitors of their unconscious relatives," Mr. Hudson argued, coming into Sue's view. "It would be in your best interest to not cause a scene and leave now before we call hospital security."

Sue made no reply, but simply reached for her purse on the floor, pulling out a leather wallet. Her eyes met Allies briefly, but the brunette said nothing though her eyes showed all the anger that Sue was feeling too.

"You see," Sue continued, summoning up every fiber of resistance in her body just to keep arguing without shedding a single tear. She flashed her badge and identification...praying that this advice from Bobby, Myles, and Demetrius would work. "I am an F.B.I. agent, too...I know when and where I am allowed to be...with or without your permission. It...is very interesting to see all of the respect between the various levels of law enforcement. But with a son that is an agent...you must know that F.B.I. is very close to the top."

"You selfish bitch!" Allie suddenly burst forth, coming into Sue's view, her movement pulling Sue's attention to her face. "Jack is dying and all you can do is be stubborn and pigheaded enough to force yourself where you aren't wanted. Give those that matter to him the last bit of time that they will ever have!"

"Jack isn't dying!" Sue demanded, rising to her feet as the angry and depressed tears escaped her and demanded their freedom. "He's fighting! All that any of you can do is squander that time away! And don't you dare try to tell me that I don't love him! I love him more than you could ever imagine loving someone! That's why I want to be here!"

"Oh," Allie spat back sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. "You may love him...but the whole point of that is whether or not the feeling is mutual! Just because you've been obsessed with him for years doesn't mean a thing!"

"Then why are we engaged?" Sue demanded, breathing to calm herself as she brushed angrily at her tears as they took even more liberty. "Then why did he ask me to marry him? And why did I say yes?"

Allie looked as though someone has struck her when Sue pulled the ring off of her finger since the first time that Jack had placed it there more than two weeks previous and showed it to her. Wiping again at the tears to clear her vision, Sue saw the surprised expressions on their faces at her claim and waited to see how they would react.

Allie merely shook her head after several moments of resentful silence, her face growing even angrier, along with Jack's parents' and brothers'.

"It's not true," Allie insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's impossible. Jack would never ask some deaf girl to marry him when we've been seeing each other for years. You could have gotten that ring anywhere."

This was like a blow to the stomach and Sue's mouth dropped as the tumultuous emotions within her rose maddeningly. The tears calmed to a steady stream down her face as Sue forced herself to calm, wishing more than anything that Jack was there mentally to tell his family the truth.

"Look on the inside," Sue said after a moment, their eyes like torches as they glared at her angrily, trying to mask the confusion and doubt that they were obviously feeling. "He had the jeweler engrave something and it's in Jack's hand. Even all of you should know Jack's handwriting."

The taller of Jack's brother snatched the ring out of her hand to examine it for himself. Sue watched as his eyes changed from harsh and angry to confused and suspicious. He passed it down the line that they now formed on the opposite side of Jack's bed from her. The change was apparent in everyone's faces as they saw it, but Sue knew that it did not change a thing.

"We'll believe this crazy little story when we hear it from Jack himself," Jack's other brother, the one that looked very similar to him, determined. "Good luck with that. We're not staying in this room with someone like you...good job...forcing away a dying man's family so that you can live in your lie."

Without another word passing between them, he dropped the ring disgustedly on the bed and he, his brother, and father ushered Allie and Mrs. Hudson out of the room. Sue watched them as they passed the nurses' station, the tears still falling over her cheeks and the sobs that she had been painfully withholding wrenching forth.

"Jack," Sue begged in a desperate whisper, rounding the bed to the other side so that she could crawl in at his side without disturbing the many tubes and wires. "Jack...please don't give up, honey. Please...we need you. I need you."

Sue raised her hand shakily to his cold face, gently caressing his taut cheek. She brushed lightly over his closed eyes, then nose, then touched his lips with her thumb. It was a strange feeling...one that ate at her with it difficulty and confusion to understand. How could she love someone so very much that it hurt her and want them to live and be with her so badly, but wish nothing but peace for him, at the same time? She hated to ponder on the thought...but what if death was really the only hope that Jack had for peace?

She did not want to lose him, or else she knew that she would lose herself...but nor did she want him to live in suffering. He deserved more; he deserved better.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you can recognize from the show.**

**Thank you to Fanpire101, cheliosfan, and b1212 for your reviews and to anyone else reading this. This one is kind of a long one...well...at least long for me. lol**

Sue stirred slightly in her sleep as something began to arouse her against her body's wishes. The unknown intruding feeling on her shoulder began to take form in Sue's consciousness as a gentle hand and Sue forced herself to open her eyes.

The bright whiteness of hospital walls were never a pleasant waking view, but Sue had become accustomed to them over the past few days. Shifting uncomfortably to try and relieve the sharp pain stabbing into her left side, Sue slowly raised herself into a sitting position and turned to identify her waker.

"Ms. Thomas," began Amelia, the hospital's head nurse, when Sue was looking at her and seemed aware enough to read her lips. "Is this yours? I found it on Mr. Hudson's chest when I came in. I thought that it may have slipped off while you were sleeping."

Amelia held out a small round object and Sue's eyes widened in surprise and relief. How could she have forgotten to put it back on?

"Yes, ma'am," Sue answered, taking the ring as she offered it and replacing it on its designated finger. "Thank you so much...I can't...I didn't..."

"Shhh," Amelia smiled at her soothingly patting Sue's shoulder, having become more than aware of Sue's delicate emotional state from her many encounters with her over the last days. "Don't worry about it. I would have waited to wake you and just kept it safe, but I have some news that I thought that you would probably want to know about."

Sue looked down instinctively to Jack's face, unchanged from the same pallor and shallowness that it had held since he had been brought there. Reaching a hand down beside her to take Jack's, the memories of the previous night rushed back to the fore of her mind and Sue had to push them away before returning her regard to Amelia.

Amelia saw the fear and worry in Sue's eyes and tense body language and honestly felt for the poor woman. It gave her some pleasure, at least, to know that she could do this little favor to the woman that she had been watching suffer for days with her friend's and fiance's near-death wounds and then her fiance's relatives. It was only four in the morning, but Amelia had wanted to make certain that Sue was the first one to know. The small amount of guilt that she felt was more than overshadowed by the news that she had for her; at least something good would finally happen for the poor young woman.

"Sue," Amelia explained, broadening her smile, trying to give the impression of a friend rather than just hospital staff. "Jack's going to be fine."

The deep breath that rose visibly in Sue's chest mingled immediately with her widened eyes and unexplainable expression. Amelia rested a hand on Sue's shoulder to calm her like a mother may try to calm her excited and figity child.

"The doctor examined him just a few hours ago," Amelia continued to explain, ensuring Sue's full attention and trying not to distort her lips to much with a smile of happiness for the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. "He said that his pupils have been dialating properly...no hesitations, or such. The wound has healed more sufficiently than any of us really expected. Now...he will have to keep the breathing tube in until he is fully recovered, but the doctor said that it should be perfectly safe to bring him out of his induced coma. He may be in a bit of pain, but the medication will be able to do its work now. There's just one thing..."

"What is it?" Sue asked, knowing that her voice must have shuddered slightly with her excited breathing as a timid and teary smile graced her features.

She tightened her grip on Jack's hand and reached the other one over to cover them both, caressing Jack's thumb and forefinger, her eyes never leaving Amelia's.

"It's the damage that was done," Amelia began to explain, praying that Sue would not allow this to hinder her happiness for the man that she so obviously loved. "I know that the doctor told you that only minimal damage was done, thankfully. Jack's throat and esophogus are in good condition with no lasting damages. The bullet did miss his spinal cord and it does not appear that any nerve damage was done. Honestly, it seems like the bullet grazed just the very edge of his neck in the perfect position. He had enough muscle built up in his neck to protect the vital parts."

"But?" Sue asked slowly, knowing that there was a 'but' coming.

"But...the x-rays of his neck did show that the bullet shattered a little bit," Amelia went on, determined to be as careful and compassionate as she could while relaying the doctor's words. "There was a small piece of the bullet that did break into a deeper region of his neck. It was removed during his first surgery, but the doctor has been studying what damaging results it may have caused."

"It was...about this big," Amelia pressed on gently, holding her fingers before Sue to show a size of about three forths of an inch long. "It broke away and was lodged in his larynx."

"His vocals?" Sue clarified, recalling some medical terminology from her kinesiology classes in college. "So you mean...?"

"Sue," Amelia finished for her, taking over when Sue's voice began to shake and the tears turn more forceful with her growing understanding. "Jack may not be able to speak anymore." Amelia tapped her arm a little more firmly to demand Sue's attention. "But don't let that destroy the fact that he's going to make it. Sue...he's going to make it and he should recover fully, with enough therapy. He may not even need much therapy once the muscles and ligaments in his neck heal."

"You don't understand," Sue answered sadly, looking down at her hands wrapped lovingly around Jack's. "I am happy that he is going to be alright...I...I can't even tell you how happy I am. I love him and..." Sue took a deep breath to steady herself. "It's just...I know how difficult it is. I can't hear...but don't even remember what it's like to hear. Silence is all that I have ever known. Jack...he knows what it's like to speak...that's all that he knows. There is such an enormous gap between you and the rest of the world when you can't communicate properly. I can't hear...and it causes me problems...but I honestly can't imagine not being able to speak. I remember what it was like to feel so isolated because so many people can't understand what you are trying to say to them. I don't want that for Jack. He doesn't deserve this!"

"Sue," Amelia took one of Sue's hands to squeeze comfortingly in her own as Sue tried to wipe at her tears with her blazer sleeve. "He has you. He will be able to communicate with you...and by the way that your team and his family seems to react to you two, the two of you must be very special together. Something tells me that as long as he has you...he's going to be just fine. Agent Leland even told me that he's learn ASL since he met you and has become very proficient at it. He will be able to communicate...he'll still be able to write and sign. Don't worry over the small things. Be thankful that that is the only danger that he's in now. Quite honestly, I think that he would rather be alive and with you for the rest of his life, unable to speak, rather than talking away without you with him."

Sue shook her head softly again, her heart and mind racing. She was incandescently happy that Jack had survived this, that he had not given up and would live, no matter how unconsciously done it had been. But his voice. Sue knew better than many how often a voice or a sound was taken for granted. Amelia was right, she would be able to communicate with her by means of ASL and other by means of pen and paper. But the fact still remained. There was going to be so many difficulties ahead for Jack. He had not lived this way for his lifetime and Sue's heart felt as though it truly wanted to melt in sorrow for him. He deserved so much better. He didn't deserve this. This was not good enough for Jack.

"What are the chances of him regaining his voice?" Sue asked after several minutes of sitting in utter silence, a part of her truly surprise that Amelia had remained with her in her pain.

"Zero to none," Amelia answered her, the resignation in her face telling Sue that she thought it best to give her the truth as forthrightly as she could. Beating around the bush would only worsen matters.

Sue nodded her head slowly at this and pulled both her hands away from Amelia's and Jack's to pull off her blazer. She layed it distractedly on the back of the nearby chair before meeting Amelia's kind and concerned eyes again.

"Thank you," Sue said sincerely, something telling her that Amelia had truly done her a favor that she would never fail to appreciate as long as she lived. "I really appreciate you letting me know all of this...just...thank you."

"I just thought that it would be easier for you this way," Amelia replied, shaking her head as though brushing Sue's appreciation away. "Instead of having to be there with his family when the doctor tells them later on today. I wasn't really supposed to tell you...so...um...do you mind not mentioning it to anyone."

_I promise_, Sue signed with a small smile. "I promise," she clarified at Amelia's confused look and straightened her fingers when Amelia attempted to mimick the sign. "Thank you," Sue said again, signing that as well.

"You get back to sleep, Ms. Thomas," Amelia scolded playfully, slapping her hands on her knees as she stood up from where she had been sitting on the bedside chair. "Get some rest. You should probably let your team know what's happening since we really _aren't_ allowed to give F.B.I. agents' coworkers their medical conditions."

Sue blushed slightly at her small reprimand, knowing that she was referring to what she had told Jack's family the previous night to shut down their excuses of her not being allowed to know legally.

"You over heard me talking to Jack's family last night," Sue concluded, standing to stretch herself before returning to Jack's side for a few more hours of rest.

"Hey, as long as you know and I know it...they don't have to know it," Amelia laughed, checking Jack's oxygen levels again.

Sue nodded and moved to reclaim her place beside Jack, but Amelia waved at her to stop her movements.

"Oh, no ma'am," she halted her, then pulled open a drawer in the bedside table, pulling out a pair of comfortable looking pajamas and some clean underclothes. "Not yet. Your friend Lucy threatened me within an inch of my life if I didn't make you put these on before bed. She said that they're your favorite. Just put these on and I'll show you were you can take a shower after you get a few more hours of rack time. Just help me move Mr. Special Agent here over a little. It can't be healthy for you to sleep with six inches of space time after time."

Sue followed Amelia's instructions to a T, thankful for the change of clothes and prospects of a good shower. She pushed all other thoughts to the back of her mind as the tiredness took over her again. All she wanted was to curl up next to Jack and look forward to him waking within the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours. For once, she would recall the unpleasant thoughts when she could handle them and deal with them later. Right now, she wished to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual.**

**A big thanks to Huck05, em shorty, Fanpire101, and JaS2g for your reviews and thanks to anyone else that read!**

"Ms. Dotson!" The formidable voice could be heard from the corridor outside of the bullpen before Randy's form crossed the threshold.

Lucy let out a groan and propped her chin in her hand, her elbow on the surface of her desk, preparing herself for the worst. One of the many drawbacks to having the desk closet to one of the door was the inconvenience it posed when another human being was wished to be avoided; no opportunity to run and hide away without being spotted.

"What do you want, Randy?" Lucy asked, setting down her coffee mug. It was much too early in the morning for this; didn't even Randy have the decency to wait until she had been settled in for at least fifteen minutes? "Keep in mind that I haven't finished my first cup yet."

"Haha, very funny, Dotson," Randy chided sarcastically, clasping his hands together in front of him in that special way that never seemed to fail in annoying everyone. "Where is this months expense vouchers? I distinctly remember instructing you to have them on my desk and prepared for processing at eight a.m., sharp."

"Randy," Lucy answered, trying to mask the clear annoyance in her voice, but failing dismally. "I don't even come in until nine. Give me until ten...fifty-five minutes," Lucy regarded her watch and stifled another moan of Randy-inflicted-agony. "That's all."

"Why are they not prepared now?" Randy questioned, obviously growing impatient with her and Lucy met Tara's eyes over Randy's shoulder as she made a scene of quietly tip-toeing around him. "Surely even you can make time in your _busy _schedule to do a little bit of work."

"In case you haven't noticed, Randy," Demetrius began, coming to Lucy's rescue as he entered the door closely behind Tara, a smile on his face at her stealthy escape from Randy's notice. "It's a Monday morning, we're short two very important members of our team, and we obviously have some other worries on our mind." Demetrius's face grew very serious when he stopped at Randy's side and met the much shorter man's gaze; Demetrius Ganns seemed to be the only one capable of gaining any level of silence from Randy. "You'll get your paperwork...but take into account the fact that it's a little difficult to keep up the teams papers when two members of that team are in the hospital and the others' are more than a little worried about their friends."

"Agent Ganns," Randy almost stammered, finally dropping his gaze as though almost affected by Demetrius's speech. "I understand that...but deadlines are deadlines. I would really appreciate the cooperation of this team. Just...get me your paperwork a.s.a.p.."

With that, Randy nodded with forced civilitly to Lucy and departed the bullpen. Lucy felt almost too flabbergasted at D.'s effectiveness to notice Sue walk in with Levi in tow.

"Bravo!" Tara was saying with an exemplary clap of her hands and an admiring bow of her head. "Good show! Good show!"

"I honestly did not know that it was possible for Randy to speak with an octave of compassion...or least humane understanding," Lucy smiled, standing up from her desk and crossing to the coffee machine. "Naa...it must have been fear-driven." Lucy concluded, glancing back at Sue briefly as she poured her coffee.

Sue had not said a word when she entered, nor even seemed to notice the ordeal passing between the remainders of the team. Lucy turned and watched in silence as her best friend pulled off her wool peacoat and scarf and hung them on the hook, briefly thinking about how often Sue and Jack had walked in together and performed the same motions simultaneously. Stirring her coffee with the tiny red straw absently, Lucy felt the demeanor of the entire room change as Tara and Demetrius discretely watched Sue boot up her computer and begin pulling papers and files; Sue seemed normal to the casual passerby, but her team was not to be fooled.

"Levi, get Sue," Lucy instructed, rounding the board with pictures of Diana Grove, Gabriel Berrinili, and Franscisco Berrinili; the latter's picture marked with a large red X to symbolize his death during the shoot out at the Grape Vine Plantation.

Levi pawed at Sue's leg dutifully, seeming very pleased with himself when Sue patted his head sedately but affectionately, looking up to find where her attention should be directed. Lucy was approaching her desk slowly with a coffee mug in hand, a kind but not-overbearing smile on her lips.

_You ok? _Lucy signed, scratching at a chip in her cup with her other hand, not entirely certain of what to say or do that would help; the last thing that she wanted was to do something wrong that would upset her friend.

_I ok_, Sue answered with a nod and a forced half smile. "Thank you...for sending the clothes for me. Amelia, the nurse, put them in the empty closet and drawers in Jack's room for me and sorted it out to where I could shower in the employees' locker room. Who would'be thought that hospital employees got to take showers at work? Maybe I should have gone with kinesiology."

Lucy smiled at Sue's faultering attempt at a joke, nodding her head understandingly as even Sue's expression showed that she was trying to be diverting. Lucy perched on the edge of Jack's desk and looked down in silence at few personal objects that it held. A few picture frames, his cleaned but empty mug, his blue model car; all of these objects made her miss him too, though she was more than certain that it was a far different longing than Sue's.

Sue watched Lucy's face as her eyes moved from Jack's desk over to Bobby's next to it, her eyes softly observing the mess that still remained as a reminder that the Australian would return to "work happily in a mess". Sue regarded her watch, feeling the silence around her more than just for her.

"They should be taking Jack off right about now," Sue commented, remembering that the team had not yet been updated on Jack's condition.

"They what?" Demetrius demanded, coming into her view behind Lucy as she saw Tara accidentally drop her own coffee mug of hot water to the floor.

"They're taking Jack off of what?" Tara asked with equal fire behind her eyes, ignoring the mess that she had made and crossing to Sue's desk. "Life support?"

"No, no," Sue explained, feeling guilty for having worried them with a poor choice of words. She had meant to give them the news as more of a surprise, wanting to bask in the happiness again, with them, instead of worrying about the smaller affects. "Off of the injections that putting him in an induced coma. They're bringing him back around...they said that they were going to as soon as the doctor came back in at nine-twenty."

The expressions on her three friends' face calmed immediately and slowly morphed into understanding and then joy. Sue watched in peaceful happiness as Demetrius sent up a prayer of thanks, his eyes closed, and unable to determine if the prayer was a private one or had been spoken aloud. Tara and Lucy grasped each others hands as they both looked tearful with relief, both women looking to Sue as if awaiting some sign that she had not been serious or that they should be worried.

It was a strange peacefulness that filled Sue's mind and chest. She knew that there was so many difficult times coming, but right now the only tears that she felt like crying were those from thankfulness and contentment. Waking up almost three hours after her discussion with Amelia, Sue had felt the most serene and at peace that she had for days. After three days and nights or torturous worrying and crying, Sue found that she could finally feel herself again.

"Sue," Lucy said suddenly, calling for Sue's attention again before Sue even realized that her mind had begun to drift off. "What are you doing here?"

"They said that it will take a few hours...maybe even a day for him to come back around," Sue answered slowly. "And...his family came back this morning and insisted that it was their turn. Amelia promised to give me a call when they started to think that he was coming to and I've already cleared it with Garrett. He said that I could be dismissed early to go to the hospital."

_Ok_, Lucy signed, still not looking very convinced that Sue should be there. "Wait...where's Myles? Mr. Up-Tight wouldn't be late without calling first, would he?"

"He's at hospital visiting Bobby," Sue answered, unconsciously clicking her pen in and out. "I told Bobby the news before I left this morning and he said that he would tell Myles. I thought it was strange that Myles would visit so early in the morning...not much like him."

With another forced smile to try and assuage their silents concerns, Sue stood from her desk and crossed to the coffee machine table, as well. Pouring her cup and adding some creamer, Sue could feel the eyes on her back as she took the first sip, but knew that they were benevolent enough to be able to ignore. How many cups of coffee had she drank in the past seventy-two hours or so? With a small laugh at her own stupidity, Sue realized that the caffinated beverage had become her only real source of nutrients.

"Are you hungry, boy?" Sue asked as Levi came up beside her and nuzzled the back of her knee with his nose and looked up to her pleadingly.

Sue grabbed the dog navy blue bowl from the bottom shelf of the coffee table, lightly fingering the uneven lines of white paint spelling out the word LEVI. A true smile passed over her lips as she remembered the day that Jack and Bobby had presented to her furry friend, declaring that he should be rewarded for employing his nose to help in finding a convict that had hidden during a chase for one of their past cases. She had walked in that morning to find Jack and Bobby bent over Bobby's desk, covered in spread out newspapers, with their backs to her. It was a priceless memory to think of how much they looked like little boys, fighting over something that they were making for their mother or someone in arts and crafts. The white paint had ended up in a messy crawl, but Sue loved it; Myles had only added that Levi could rest assured that no one would try to steal it.

The bullpen felt so empty and lonely without them; they were the "dynamic duo", the two musketeers that allowed the team to join them in their adventures and exploits, the unbeatable team in the interrogation room. _Soon_, Sue reminded herself before a tear escaped her again; she would not let her reserve faulter at work, Garrett was already being gracious enough to allow as much as he had. Sometime...perhaps not very soon...but sometime in the future, Jack and Bobby would be back here with them, livening the office with whatever antics that they had decided on for that day.

Lost in her thoughts, Sue completely missed the looks that passed between Demetrius, Tara, and Lucy. They knew exactly what Myles was most likely up to at the hospital and felt fairly certain that the point of his visit was not limited to just visiting Bobby. Myles had clearly been very upset about how Jack's family treated Sue, trying to force her to leave.

"Does Myles have his gun?" Tara asked with feigned worry, smiling at the thought of what exactly was going on between Myles, the Hudsons, and Allie, at that very moment.

"Probably...but Myles is more of a talker that can make feel as small and insignificant as humanly possible when he really wants to," Lucy answered, hiding a grin, as well. "He won't need a gun."

"Nope," Demetrius agreed, moving back towards his desk and his work as he watch Sue pull out a stored can of dog food and pull the tab back. "He may not have taken to Sue as quickly as the rest of us...but now...let's just sit back and enjoy the ride. This should be a fun story to hear. I can't wait to visit Bobby!"

**Ok, kind of a filler, but I realized that Demetrius, Lucy, Myles, and Tara didn't know how Jack was doing and they needed to know every bit as quickly as anyone else.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, etc.**

**Again, a nice big thanks to Huck05, SailorJP, Fanpire101, cheliosfan, JaS2g, and for your reviews; they were greatly appreciated. Also, thank you to any others that read!**

**A/N: Ok, I hadn't really planned on actually writing a scene between Myles and Jack's family, but rather have it described in conversations. However, some reviews showed a big interest in it, so why not? This could be fun. :) Only, please keep in mind that I hadn't planned on this, so if it doesn't live up to expectations...please just forgive my flaws! But I'll do my best! **

**Spoiler: The Leak and Simon Says**

Myles could hear the thin cardboard cup and plastic lid crunch and crinkle beneath his aggitated grip as he made his solitary way up to the elevators and pressed the upward arrow. He had thought that, perhaps, a caramel cappuccino and scone from the bakery on 11th Street would calm him a bit; however, the scone still lay in its packaging in the cupholder of his car and he had gulped down the gourmet coffee too quickly to have even really enjoyed it.

Fortification. Now he realized that that was all that the coffee had served as...fortification for the battle. He had no intentions to take it easy on the low-life individuals who would throw out their son's fiance because she was not the one that they had more than likely chosen...or worse...perhaps, because she was deaf. True, Myles was forced to look back on their early acquaintanceship with deep regret for how he had treated her, due solely to her handicap. For quite a while, he had insisted to himself that it was because she had told Lucy of his unfaithfulness, but even he had know that it was more than that. To him, it was completely absurd for a deaf rookie, with no law enforcement experiance and a mere community college education, to be granted a job on the same pay and priviledge level as him. The unwavering support that Jack had given to her right from the off, constantly taking up for her and her mistakes, had eaten him alive; when the team had followed suit, it had driven him practically nuts to see them welcome her with such widely open arms while he had still be working for acceptance after years on in their unit. How wrong he had been. It had taken a near death experiance and finally allowing himself to step down off of his high horse in a stairwell to take in Sue's words of undeserved and unwarrented friendship for him to drop his false vision of her and see her for what she really was. When he had considered Sue the closest thing to a F.B.I. poster-girl that he had ever seen, he was forced by his own consciousness to swallow his pride and realize that she was just an exceptionally gifted young woman that could work past her handicap and do what most non-hearing people could not.

Though Sue still annoyed him occasionally with her stubborn will and insistence to believe in more people than she ought, Myles knew that Susan Thomas would never mean any ill towards even her greatest enemy. He _had _been her greatest enemy for some time, yet she never acted spiteful towards him in return for his own spitefulness. He had made the mistake of treating Sue in a lesser way than he deserved...and he would be damned before he watched anyone else do it.

The elevator doors dinged suddenly, breaking Myles's silent brooding train of thoughts. Holding the door open with his hand, he allowed an elderly woman and the very-much-pregnant woman at her side to pass into the elevator before him.

The brief ride up to the appropriate floor remained silent on his behalf when he discovered that the two women were speaking in one of the few languages that he could not recognize and not a lick of English. At one point, the elder lady pointed to Myles and looked as though she were asking a question, however, when the younger mother-to-be began to laugh, Myles did his best to ignore them a polite smile...well, as polite as his fuming temper would allow.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me," Myles interrupted a jovial discussion between two nurses at the nurses' station, becoming annoyed when they ignored his attempt at a clearing of his throat. Both of the nurses looked at him. "I'm here to see Special Agent Jack Hudson, please."<p>

"He's not here anymore," the stockier of the two nurses answered.

"Yes, well I gathered that when I saw the room that he used to be in was being cleaned," Myles almost spat back, holding his voice down when his temper rose at the woman's insolence, throwing a hand towards the clear glass doors. He pulled on false smile of polite civility and leaned forward on the counter with his elbows, his voice bursting with sarcasm. "Would you please be so kind as to tell me where he is now?"

"Recovery, room 311, Agent Leland," another nurse answered, coming up behind the two younger women. "It's nice to see you again."

"Thank you so very much, Ms. Amelia," Myles said graciously, smirking pointedly at the other two and then giving a nod to the nurse with which he was familiar from his previous visits to Bobby and Jack.

Myles turned directly on his heels and headed back towards the elevators.

"Excuse me, Mr. Leland," Amelia called out before he stepped onto the elevator and followed him on when he held the door open. The doors closed and the elevator began to rise up the shaft. "The Hudson family and the woman that they brought with them is in there. Now I know that it's really none of my business, but the way that they were treating Ms. Sue was driving me crazy and I thought that I should tell you. I hope you'll excuse my poking where I don't belong, but they're really not taking kindly to other visitors."

"Not to worry, Ms. Amelia," Myles smiled easily, stepping off of the elevator when it opened up on the recovery floor. "I'm counting on that."

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, sir," a stuffy-looking grayhaired woman asked as Myles walked briefly into Room 311 without so much as a knock. "But who are you?"<p>

"Special Agent Myles Leland III," Myles answered crisply without so much as a look in her direction as he crossed over to Jack's bed where he lay, still unconscious, but with a markedly better complexion.

He carefully laid to fingers to Jack's forehead to determine if he was still as cold as he had been on his last visit and took his wrist to feel his steady pulse, wanting to see for himself that his friend was indeed improving. He was satisfied.

"And what exactly are you doing here?" another voice demanded from behind him and Myles turned to see a man of about the same age with graying black hair standing from a seat against the wall.

"Well," Myles began, clasping his hands together and raising them before him as though he were about to start explaining an answer to an impossibly stupid question, the staple sarcasm of his tone unable to even try and hide. "The custom usually goes as thus: when a man or woman in perfectly good health conditions enters an occupied room in a hospital to view and/or see another man or woman in poor health conditions...it usually called a 'visit'." He said slowly, turning in intervals to address each face on Jack's side of the pulled curtain, recognizing only one feminine face. "For example, your son is not in such a healthy state at the present time, so you _visit _him. My friend and colleague, who happens to be your son, is in a poor state of health, at this time, so I come to _visit _him."

"Such impudence!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed and Myles turned to her, pulling on the feigned polite fashion that was so typically Myles.

"Mrs. Hudson, I presume," Myles shook her hand without her consent. When her angry expression turned to sheer outrage, he turned on the elder gentleman and the other three sitting against the wall, taking their hands all in turn. "And Mr. Hudson...so nice to meet you, Jack's told us so much about you. Well, you must be...um...Mason, if I'm correct, Jack told us that one of his brothers looked very much like him. And dear, dear, Allie...it's been quite a while since you've been around...I thought that Jack ended things a long time ago. Hmm...oh, well, it's so good of you to be here for an _old family friend_. And you must be James, you...a lot taller than I would have guessed judging from Jack's medium height...but hey, I'm not one to judge a book by its cover."

"Ok, listen," Mason began, stepping forward as his parents seemed nearly frozen in shock at the stranger's audacity while Allie's expression was the picture of wide-eyed guilt at having been caught as she looked around at the Hudson's to see their reactions. "You can't just come in here and start all of this bull! You have no permission to be in here...I'm so sick of you f_ F.B.I. people coming in here and doing whatever you please because you have a badge to wave around. You don't have anyone's permission to be in here! Now get the hell out!"

Myles smiled smugly again at Mason's outburst, nonchalantly backing up a few feet towards the pulled curtain. Taking a handful of the fabric, he swung it back in one fluid movement, revealing Bobby on the other side, lying in his bed.

"Oh, um, he has my permission," Bobby stated matter-of-factly with that cheeky smile of his, wide enough to show his dimples. He turned to Myles and nodded to him in greeting. "How's it going Myles?"

"Very well, my good friend, Special Agent Bobby Manning," Myles answered, equally blatant in his sarcasm. "Isn't it such a fine day to come and visit friends in the hospital? Thank you so very much for granting me your permission to enter and stay in this room for as long as I please."

"Oh, no problem, mate," Bobby shook his head as though brushing off Myles's falsely sincere gratitude. "Only a lot of koala-backside-kissing drongos wouldn't allow the friends, colleagues, and soon-to-be-_wives _of their loved ones visit them."

"What are getting at, exactly?" James rose from his seat as well and stepped towards them.

"Really?" Allie interrupted before either men could retaliate, playing her best cards. "Are you two really going to make this time so much harder for us...and for Jack? This is nothing to play around about! This is a sad and difficult time for Jack and his loved ones and you two really intend to make it that much harder?"

"Why not?" Myles demanded loudly, advancing on all five of them brazenly. "Why the hell not? You say his 'loved ones' like that is supposed to mean something extremely significant. It obviously doesn't mean much to any of you. You tried to throw his fiance out but failed; do you really think that Jack would have allowed that kind of treatment of his 'loved one' if he had been able to stop it?"

"That woman is not Jack's fiance!" Mrs. Hudson insisted, her voice of arguement ringing out the most clearly over the others'. "Allie and Jack have been together for years! Don't you dare insult my son by saying that he settled for some...some...handicap when he's been devoted to Allie for years!"

"Is that what she told you?" Myles laughed bitterly, his eyes directly on Allie's firey ones. "Because this is the story that I heard from Jack, himself. The story that I heard is that Jack completely broke it off with Allie just a few weeks after his heart attack! The story that I heard went something like this: when Allie came during his heart attack, she had stepped right into the middle of Jack and Sue finally admitting a little something to themselves. Allie, you became jealous and started accusing Jack of cheating because you and he were 'technically dating' at the time and he fought with you. According to all accounts of that very heated telephone conversation, he completely broke it off with you and you two haven't been together since!"

"Can't deny it, sheila," Bobby backed Myles up from his bed. "I was there during the whole conversation. Just admit it Allie...you were hoping that Jack hadn't meant it because you knew why he had broken it off. You remember asking me if there was ever anything between him and Sue? I remember...because you obviously saw exactly what the rest of us always have between them. Allie...sheila...I'm really not trying to be a prick here, but just admit that you've been holding on too long and that things are over. If you really love my friend as much as you say you do...let him be with who he loves."

"He loves Allie," Mason insisted, coming to stand at Allie's side as cold tears of contempt began to her eyes and fall down to her clenched jaw.

"Well, then...you've nothing to worry about, do you?" Myles agreed cynically. "You can let Sue visit him willingly...or...she could come and _visit _Bobby. Either way, Jack will be coming back around really anytime now, and he can tell you for himself."

"My son is not dating a handicap," Mr. Hudson stood firmly on his resolve, stepping directly in front of Myles.

The fury that had been quickly accumulating in the pit of Myles's stomach burst, but he forced himself not to strike or lash out at the older man, but met him eye for eye. With a harsh wave of his hand behind his back, he halted the movement that he could hear Bobby making as his temper flared, also.

"You're perfectly correct, sir," Myles gave the man and his family and lying friend a resentful smile, trying to force some grace into his clenched teeth. "You're son isn't going to marry a handicap. Susan Thomas may not be able to hear...but she is, by no means, handicapped. She can do things that you could never dream of doing. She's accomplished more in her thirty or so years than you have in your lifetime. Have you ever been solely responsible for being able to put horrendous criminals and terrorists away for life? Have you ever helped, and been a major asset to, a take down of a terrorist plot or survived chasing a serial killer? Your son saved her from that serial killer and from a number of other things. Do you know he did after every instance that he thought that Sue may have been in even the slightest danger? He hugged her...just held her; and when he could, he went miles out of his way to make sure that _she_..._Susan Thomas_...was not in any danger. What do you call that, Mr. Hudson? I call that loving someone. And just as much as he's done for Sue, Sue has done for him."

This speech seemed to effectively silence Allie and the Hudson's and Myles could feel his victory immediately. There was nothing else they could say.

"Sue will be back very soon," Myles informed them, still holding the elder man's gaze challengingly. "You will be gracious while she resides in this room, as long as she resides in this room...or you can leave. Sue may be sweet and quiet and submissive because she wanted so badly to make a good impression on all of you...but I'm not. She's on a team with five other people, other than your son, who don't give a damn about good impressions. Do not cross a line that has been so clearly laid out for you. You will be civil, or you can leave...it's amazing how much affect the F.B.I.'s mere presence in a hospital can have. You see...especially in Washington D.C...having federal agents present is always a comfort to hospital workers and such because hospitals are common targets for crimes."

Myles turned again to address Bobby's glaring and loathing face. He carefully rapped on the bed's handrails for his attention.

"I think I'm going to grab another coffee and call Sue to come on down," Myles stated, all evidence of his former displeasure gone from his face and countenance. He nodded to the Hudson's and Allie on his way out. "I hope to see all you again, but 'have a good day' just in case I don't."

With that, he shut the thick wooden door behind him and made his way down the corridor towards the vending machines. Slipping in a few quarters, he grabbed another paper cup and filled it almost to the brim with the steaming liquid.

"How did it go?" a voice asked from behind him and Myles turned to see Amelia leaning against a soda machine, marking something on the clipboard in her hands.

"Very well, I think," Myles answered, sensing that Amelia knew a little more than the average nurse. Taking a guess at what it was, Myles passed her, pausing briefly before returning down the hallway towards the lobby to call Sue. "Thanks for putting him Bobby's room."

"What?" Amelia smiled slyly, passing by him and continuing on her way in the opposite direction down the hall. "There were no other rooms available."

**Ok, so this turned out to be a pretty long chapter...much longer than I had intended. But hey, Myles rarely gets his moment of glory and we all need a good dose of smart-butt Myles and loyal Bobby, right? I hope that this was something like what you were expecting for the fight scene...I wasn't entirely sure how to do it, that's why I hadn't planned on it. But here it is! Please let me know what you think! Kind of nervous about this one! lol**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I can lay claim to nothing but the story line and characters unrecognizable from the show.**

**First off, big hugs and thanks to SailorJP, Huck05, b1212, dreamer1993, JaS2g, Fanpire101, DiamondsR4eva, and cheliosfan for the lovely reviews; I'm so glad that you all liked it and gave me a big push to go ahead and write more! lol. :) And also, thanks to those who read!**

**Second order of business, I know that many on this site are not from America, but please bear with me. The 4th of July is a big holiday here; if I'm over explaining, forgive me...I'm not certain how familiar other countries are with it. So...HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY AMERICA! God bless America and all of the men and women who fight for this nation, its citizens, and its freedom! **

**Ok, I'm done. :) Thanks. Now, on to another chapter.**

"You'll take care of me, right, Levi?" Sue asked nervously as she paused to talk to the canine before stepping out of her car. She took breath, scrounging up enough willpower to keep her emotions at bay and under control. With another glance in the rearview mirror, she saw Levi bark. "Thanks, buddy. I've got your back, too."

Opening the door up quickly, Sue opened the back passenger door for Levi and took his leash in hand. Pressing the button on her key chain, she saw the lights blink, briefly remembering a time when Jack had told her that cars beeped, too, when the lights flashed and had proceeded to take up half an hour trying to describe to her what a beep was like in terms that she would find useful. The effort had proved fruitless, but it had been funny to watch him, anyways.

Slightly lost in her thoughts as she strode through the large parking deck towards the elevators, Sue had not noticed the slight form of a pretty middle-aged woman running up to her hurriedly. When she felt someone suddenly grab at her arm, it had startled her until she recognized a slightly out of breath Amelia.

"Amelia, what is it?" Sue asked and signed, noticing the distressed look on her face and her heart turned suddenly very cold with dread. "Is Jack alright?"

"Yes...," Amelia breathed, pulling Sue back in the other direction from whence she had come. "It's quicker this way! He's coming around...come on!"

Sue was only able to catch the words "quicker" and "coming around" as Amelia was pulling her and Levi away, but that was enough to have Sue running after her lead, keeping an exact pace with Levi.

The beating and painful drumming in her heart and lungs as she ran swiftly towards the employee doors had nothing to do with her physical exertion. She had to be there for him. Why had she decided to leave to go into work for only just over an hour? It was so stupid! She should have just swallowed down her anxiety that Jack's family and Allie caused and stayed. Jack was so much more important to her than all of this nonsense. It hurt to know how much they disapproved and hated her, but not nearly as badly as him waking up and her not being there would.

"He's been moved to room 311 with Agent Manning," Amelia informed her, both women and dog having to slow thier pace to a speed walk once they burst through the doors and into the main hospital. Thank God that they were already on the correct floor. "You go ahead. I have to get the blood pressure machine."

Sue nodded quickly, every aspect of her body seeming to function at an abnormal speed, except for her brain. Her mind was struggling to keep up with everything, though she knew the important: Jack was waking up and she had to be there.

Stopping briefly to look in both directions to gain her bearings, Sue took off in the quickest walk she could manage without positively jogging or breaking out into another run; her legs wanted to move so much faster than her propriety would allow.

"Myles!" Sue called out as she saw her coworker step out of a room a few yards down the hall from her.

"Quick, Sue!" she saw Myles say hurriedly as she finally did resort to jogging, waving his hand in a frantic come-hither motion.

Finally reaching the door that she had passed through so many times to see Bobby, Sue felt Myles's hand on her elbow as he guided her into the semi-crowded room and shoved the handle of Levi's leash into his waiting hand. By the looks on the Hudsons' and Allie's faces, they seemed surprised that she had actually made it. But she could ignore them; they were of as much importance to her at that moment as a speck of dust on the window sill. She avoided everyones' eyes, seeking out only those that she longed to see for so may excruciating days. She did not want conversation or to even guess what the hostile counterparts of the group was saying...she wanted only to be by Jack's side.

Disregarding any sense of manners or politeness, Sue slipped her way in between Allie, Mason, and James to reach the head of Jack's bed where Bobby managed to sit in a wheelchair, opposite Jack's parents.

"Has he woken up yet?" Sue asked Bobby desperately, hardly remembering to look at his lips for a reply, her breathing rythmically quick and heavy.

"Not yet, sheila," Bobby answered quickly, his face just as overtaken by his emotions as her own as he shook his head in the negative and then nodded to direct Sue's attention back towards Jack's face.

Without thought reserve, Sue reached a hand cup the right side of his face, brushing her thumb over his features, and the other hand on his chest to be able to tell when he made a noise. His black eyelashes began to flutter slightly as his lids tensed and untensed as though the light were too bright to his unaccustomed eyes. Without entirely thinking about it, Sue automatically reached above her and pulled a small chain cord, switching off the extra lamp but still affording herself enough light from the window to see his lips.

His eyelashes and lids repeated their wakening movements, but more surely this time and movements from his lips caught Sue's eye, as well. She could feel the almost undetectable rumbling from deep within his chest and knew in her subconscious that he should not be trying to speak.

"Sweetheart," Sue said quietly, taking a leap of faith as she lowered her lips to his ear to speak to him more clearly. His eyes were beginning to open and she trained her eyes on his as she watched them rove around in either fuzziness or confusion or both. She could feel the muscles in his arms and chest beginning to contract as his torso rose and fell with his breathing; he was either growing more and more anxious or was beginning to panick. He could not do that, it would only harm him more. "Sweetheart, it's Sue...I don't know if you can hear me...but...if you can, wave your hand."

Sue glanced away from his eyes as his brows narrowed slightly in concentration and looked down the bed to see his hand lift slowly from the bed, extend his fingers, and wave from side to side. A harsh breath that she had been holding released in a sigh and she sat backwards onto Bobby's knee, lest her legs failed her and sent her fainting dead away on the floor.

A man in a white lab coat with wire rimmed glasses came to her side and put a hand carefully on her shoulder for her attention as Sue pulled her hand away from Jack's chest and slipped it easily into his. His fingers grasped hers instantly in a tight grip as Sue looked up at the doctor, unsure whether her lips wanted to quiver with tears or smile.

"Keep going, you're doing well," the doctor told her, watching Jack's face and reaching a hand to his inner thigh to feel his pulse. "Ok, everybody, we need a bit of room, please. If Mr. Hudson gets too upset or excited it could cause problems, so, if you will..."

Sue looked back down into Jack's face after closing her eyes tightly for a moment of deep and grateful prayer. She could see the aggitated movements of Jack's parents, his brothers, and Allie around her, but she did not wish to know what they were say...though she felt that she could make a pretty accurate guess.

Jack was important; nothing else. Jack was her purpose now and she pulled the entirety of her focus back onto him as she felt Bobby wheel his chair forward a bit to put her closer to Jack. Straightening her back, she reached both hands to steady his face when she noticed that he was trying to turn his head.

"Jack, darling, please listen to me," Sue pleaded calmly, leaning forward enough to finally meet the gaze of the eyes that she had so missed. His expression was a painful mixture of confusion and fear. "Please...don't try to speak. Don't try to say anything." The look on his face grew deeper in confusion and worry as Sue took another calming breath, gently stroking his cheeks and lips with her thumbs as her fingers brushed softly in his hair. "Sign to me...please. Will you sign for me?"

When Jack gave no immediate impression that he had even comprehended her, Sue glanced back down at his hand. It was balled up in a fist and moved expertly up and down in the sign for _yes_. A happy smile sprung up in Sue's expression; she was hardly able to hold back the happy sob that begged to be let loose. Looking back to Jack's face, she saw that his expression had softened somewhat.

"Do you remember me, Jack?" Sue asked, standing from Bobby's knee to perch easily on the the side of his mattress, feeling the familiar need to be as close as possible to the handsome man before her. "Do you know who I am?"

She knew that these probably were not the important questions that she should be asking, but Sue could not help herself. When Jack pulled an arm up from his side to hold by his head as he signed in the affirmative again, Sue could not possibly hide her emotions.

_Yes, Sue_. Jack signed, his expression softening even more into a gentle smile as Sue saw him look around to see Bobby, Myles, and all of the other familiar faces. _I love you. You kiss me._

With no other response than an obediant nod of her head, Sue leaned down and complied with his wishes. The restrained fevor with which he kissed her back after so long of a nearly deadened state surprised her, but pleasant tears of unmatchable happiness filled her up. It was then that she realized why the cliche "only two in the room" was so popular...because was exactly her mindset at that moment. No one else around mattered. After what must have been over a minute but seemed like no more than a few seconds, Sue pulled away again.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked with her face radiant in a broad smile, again, pulling out the much-worn handkerchief that D. had provided her with. "Do you know why you're here?"

_Yes_, Jack answered again, his eyes roving over her face and then all around him as much as he physically could without moving his head against her firm hold; he would not resist her...he couldn't. _In hospital. Get shot at Grape Vine Plantation. Bobby ok? You ok?_

"Yes," Sue answered to all his statements and questions in one word. Her tears were still falling mercilessly, but she was able to relish them. "You're family is here, too. Everyone wanted to be here for you. Do you remember everything? Is there any confusion?"

Jack's eyebrows grew narrow a moment later as he contemplated her question. _Why you say I no speak?_

Sue closed her eyes at his question, praying for help in chosing the right words. _We no talk about that now. We talk later. Please no speak. Please no try. Promise? Trust me._

_Promise_, Jack agreed. _I trust you._

_I love you_, Sue answered before kissing his forehead again quickly before looking back at him.

_I love you, too_, he replied, then moved his hand to cup around her cheek and dried the tears of her left cheek with his thumb.

Sue gave a small laugh as she felt everyone else move in closer. Looking down at Bobby, she saw the unashamed tears in his eyes as he smiled his dimpled smile at his best friend and comrade. She watched in sheer happiness as Jack moved his hand away from her face, balled it into a fist, and lightly tapped Bobby's offered fist, his smile growing wider with some measure of humor. Myles stepped forward as well and took Jack's hand, his eyes seeming effected, too, though he was less inclined to show it.

Her heart seemed to be leaping and bounding around in her chest for joy as she watched him, managing to greet everyone without even moving his head once. Even his silent greeting to his family touched him.

Things would be hard, probably sooner rather than later, but that was a bridge that she would cross when she came to it and not before. She translated willingly every time Jack made the slightest sign.

After several minutes of tearful greetings on nearly all parts, including Jack's, the doctor, Amelia, and another nurse insisted that now it was their time to work.

With another brief but sweet and intimate kiss, Sue departed the room behind the Hudsons, Allie, and Myles pushing Bobby into the hallway before him. Pausing only slightly at the door, Sue looked back. Jack's hand was raised slightly, his fingers distorted into the sign for _I love you. _Without a second thought, Sue repeated the action, parting only when she saw the soft smile on his lips.

**Ok, another pretty long one, but there it is. I really hope that you enjoyed it and please, please, please review to let me know how I did. This was kind of another tough one. More emotions than words. lol :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the story line. Heehee...see that? It rhymed. Just kidding, I promise. **

**Anyways, another big thanks to SailorJP, Huck05, Fanpire101, Pattyfer78, cheliosfan, JaS2g, mo9526, and BabyBeaver for your kind reviews and thanks again to anyone else that may have read. I hope you're still finding it as enjoyable to read as I am to write.**

"Just...give us a minute...please, Bobby?" Sue asked, standing from her chair and crossing to the draw curtain as the doctor departed.

"Yeah, sheila," Bobby nodded kindly, the pain that he felt for his friend visible all over his face. "You take as much time as you need. Take care of him."

Sue nodded her head slowly, wiping away a tear in her eye as she pulled the curtain all the way around to the wall beside the door. Sending up another silent prayer, pleading for the help and strength to be what Jack needed now, Sue slowly turned to Jack's bed. His eyes stared determinedly at hands on his blanket, his brows furrowed, and expression grim.

It had been nearly two and a half weeks since Jack had woken from his coma, yet the doctor had only just agreed to tell Jack of the full extent of his condition. Sue felt as though she was being torn into several pieces. A part of her wished that the doctor had agreed to get it over with and told him sooner, providing time to heal without allowing Jack's hopes to be raised so far towards a full recovery, only to be shattered. Another part of her just wished that this was all a bad dream that she would wake from to find Jack in perfect health, the voice that she had never even heard still a part of him. However, the last piece of her was more rational; the doctor had been right to wait until the muscles and tendons had begun to heal past the point of still being in danger to tell him, that way the reaction that she could feel was now coming would do no real damage to him.

"Jack?" Sue asked carefully, coming to stand at the side of his bed, resting one hand on the handrail and the other over his folded ones.

_He tell me he come today to take off brace, and he tell me this after_. Jack signed, his lips visibly trembling from either pain, sorrow, or anger; Sue could not tell which one.

When Sue could think of no reply for several moments, Jack finally looked up to meet her watery gaze, his own eyes red with the effort not to fall to pieces. Silently, he pulled his hands from beneath Sue's gentle grasp and used them to move himself over to the other side of the bed. Looking back at her narrowed eyebrows and fresh quiet tears, he could see and hear the difficulty that she was having to suppress a sob and her breathing that seemed to come in small quiet gasps.

_Please? _Jack signed to her, reaching his other hand to her on the handrail and pulling her closer to him.

Sue kicked off her shoes and carefully took the place that Jack had provided by his side. The closeness felt as though it would overwhelm her as the familiar scent that was so completely Jack filled her up and she moved herself closer to him. Turning on her side to look up into his eyes, she could see the pain and pure sorrow that he felt as a large tear escaped him and trailed down towards the sheets beneath them. It was the tear that seemed to break the dam and all of his former control and reserve was lost to him as Sue watched his face crumble with the following tears and the sobs shook his body.

_I sorry_, he signed, pulling one hand up to the small space between them. _I sorry, Sue. Thank you for be here. I love you._

At this, Sue put a hand over his, halting all movement and moved her position closer to him, closing all distance between their bodies. Jack's reaction was to completely accept her closeness as both arms wrapped around her waist and back. Sue trailed one small arm around Jack's waist to hold their positions close as the other reached up to rest gently on his cheek, brushing away his tears. He turned his head slightly and caught her fingertips with his lips, kissing them softly before reaching up a hand to draw Sue's face closer to his to capture her lips in a needy and desperate kiss, which she returned with her own renewed tears.

"I love you, Jack Hudson," Sue whispered into Jack's ear several moments later when they finally broke apart and she brushed lightly at the hair on the nape of his neck.

She held him closely to her with the hand on his neck and the other still around his broad back as he buried his head against her neck and collarbone, gently kissing her collarbone through his sobbing as his arms pulled her tighter to him. Sue felt one warm hand slowly reach below the back of her shirt to rest on the point just above the small of her back and his fingers transformed into the sign for _I love you_ against her skin.

Just the way that Jack had learned to sign, and had always signed to her whenever he could because he knew how much she liked it, Sue determined that she would talk to him. She did not know what it was like to hear a person's voice, but she supposed that it had to be the same as seeing someone sign was to her. He had always made a point to do for her what was natural for her, and she would make the same point for him. Signing was more comfortable for her...but she would always talk for him.

"I love you, Jack," Sue repeated, feeling the bandage on his neck against her fingertips as their arms tightened about each other, desperate to be closer in Jack's time of sorrow, the sorrow that ate away at Sue, too, for Jack's sake. "Never forget that. I will always be right here and I'm never going to leave, until you send me away. Please, Jack...I love you so much."

_I never send you away_, Jack fingerspelled against her back, feeling as though his heart would break. He could feel the almost imperceptable soft beating of Sue's heart in her chest as he pressed face into her chest, the flow of tears still beyond his control. _You no care what my family say. I no care. I love you too much. I no deserve you, Sue...please...never leave me._

* * *

><p>Bobby sat in silence on the opposite side of the thick curtain, comforted by the fact that he lay forgotten, yet, feeling like an intruder. He had known before, just as everyone else had, of the connection between his best friend and the sweet young woman that he had learned to call his friend and felt as close as a sister. Even he knew that he was not the most sensitive or perceptive of men, but even he could recognize the sheer innocent intimacy coming from the other side of the room as Sue spoke and his best mate cried.<p>

He had seen Jack cry before, but only tears of anger or pain when Jack had come to see him after he broke it off with Kristen. It was nothing like this. This was different...unexplainable.

A small click resounded from the door and Bobby looked up immediately, raising a finger to his lips as Tara closed the door silently behind her. In light, mouse-like, footsteps, Tara crossed the room to him and placed the large wrapped present on the sofa in front of the window.

Bobby pointed to his wheelchair, avoiding any noise, and Tara nodded her understanding. Wheeling the chair closer to his bedside, she wrapped her petite arms under Bobby's broad shoulders and struggled to help him into an upright position. Ever so gently and delicately, Tara aided in his labored transfer to the wheelchair.

Kneeling down in front of him to set his feet in the footrests, Tara handled his barefeet with the utmost care and softest of touches.

Perhaps this is what Jack had always felt like, Bobby thought absentmindedly, looking down at the small blonde woman before him. The strange tingling that spread from where her hands had been in contact with his flesh to the rest of his body.

In utter deafening silence, Tara met Bobby's eyes briefly as he watched her. Standing from her crouched position, she grabbed her bag from the foot of his bed and set it in his lap, rounding to the back of his chair and pushed him towards the exit.

"What was that all about?" Tara asked once they reached the hallway and she had found a vacant waiting room for them to go in.

"Dr. Perkins told Jack about his larynx a little while ago," Bobby answered, pulling his eyes away from hers at the memory of his best friend's deep sadness. "He was really upset and I just wanted to give him and Sue some privacy."

It was a terrible sensation...to want so badly to make it better for Jack, but being unable to. Jack did not deserve this. He had been the one to make the stupid decision to reveal himself as an F.B.I. agent when he figured that the situation was anything but dangerous. One look at Berrinili and he had seen him as an easy situation to handle. He had been so very wrong and had endangered not only his life, but Jack and Sue's, as well. He should have been the one with lasting scars, scars far beyond something unpleasant to look at. His best mate would suffer for the rest of his life from a loss that he was responsible for. Some friend he could call himself.

"Bobby," Tara said softly, reaching a hand to his as she sat down in one of the hospital chairs lined against the dark red wall. "I hope you know that none of this is your fault. It was an accident...something bad that just happened because that's what happens in this line of work."

"Hit that nail right on the noggin, didn't you shiela?" Bobby asked with forced playfullness and an equally forced dimpled smile.

"Jack wouldn't blame you," Tara answered evenly, meeting Bobby's eyes unashamedly. "You shouldn't either."

"I cost my best mate his bloody voice!" Bobby said loudly, releasing his frustration, after weeks of thinking the same thing. "My stupid arrogance in thinking that Berrinili wasn't the slightest threat almost got us all killed. He shot me! Tried to shoot Sue! And Sparky's coming out of the whole ordeal as nothing less than a miracle! He saved my ass! Saved Sue! And almost lost his in the process! Look at what I almost cost them! Look at what I _have _cost him!"

Tara sat in silence, initially startled by his outburst, but then listened patiently. It was not directed at her...Bobby was just angry with himself. She felt her insides go cold as he pushed himself away from her, looking almost mad with anger as tried to calm himself by picking up a magizine off of the coffee table and then throwing it against a wall a moment later.

"So blame yourself, Bobby," Tara said softly as she walked over to him and knelt to her knees in front of him and crossed her arms over his kneecaps, resting her chin on her folded hands, getting her point across in the only way that she could think of. "Blame yourself and cost him even more. Jack would never blame you for this for anything in the world, you know that. But go ahead...blame yourself. Turn into a guilt-ridden man...do you think that you could be a good friend to Jack like that? What Jack needs from you is his best friend. He's going to need you to be exactly the same as you were before if he's ever going to get back to where he was. So what? He can't talk now. Ok. It's bad for him...it's going to bother him a lot. He has Sue, but he needs all of us, too...especially his best 'mate'. He learned ASL for Sue...so did Lucy...and so did I, to an extent. You know a little bit...learn it for him."

Bobby sat in silence as Tara spoke, her voice calming him. He could not calm the guilt and anger and anguish that he felt for his friend in his chest, but he knew that Tara was right...about everything.

He would have to play things as he went, but he would be what Sparky needed him to be. A friend.

"Tara?" Bobby asked after several minutes of silent contemplation.

"Hmmm?" Tara answered, looking up at him.

"Do you have any clue where I put that ASL book that you gave me last year?" he asked. "You lent it to me to learn the alphabet and I left it on my desk somewhere...but you know how that gets..."

"It's in my desk," Tara answered with a smile and a small laugh. "I found it smeared over with chocolate and paperclips stuck to it...so I took it back and cleaned it up. I knew that you wouldn't miss it until later."

**Ok, kind of a long one, too. I know that they're are some Bobby/Tara fans out there and somethat are not. I already did a Bobby/Darcy and Tara/Stanley, so it's Bobby and Tara's turn. I like both! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please, please, please review. This whole chapter was kind of if-fy while I was writing it, so I would really like to know your opinions. Thank you! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Thanks to SailorJP, Fanpire101, cheliosfan, Huck05, b1212, and JaS2g for your reviews and thank you to anyone else reading, as always! :) **

**I'm guessing that you already know that **_**italics **_**are signing, but now bold writing (other than in these annoying author notes) is supposed to be writing. You'll see what I mean! :)**

"Me next!" Tara cried excitedly, jumping up from the foot of Bobby's bed and snatching up the wrapped package from the floor beside the wall and pulling a smaller one out of her purse. "Me next! Uh-uh, Myles...back off."

It had been several hours since the doctor had woken him and Sue from their peaceful slumber in his bed and its adjoining chair. Several hours to dwell on his news, on the fact that he would never speak again. He had even had Sue ask what his chances would be to be able to speak again; Dr. Perkins's only reply had been that he had already been given a miracle by merely being alive and that it would be unfair to ask for more. Not comforting...but true. It had been several hours for him to bask in the warmth and comfort that Sue brought him and begin to come to terms with it. He was, by no means, over the tragic fact...but he had found himself able to truthfully smile and laugh in most senses of the word when Myles had made a badly timed joke, even when no one else had and Myles had had the decency to look very ashamed.

Now here they all sat, the whole team, long after the hours when those still working were due to get off. The dark snow-filled sky outside the hospital room window went unnoticed by the small gathering of friends, failing to encourage them to call it a night. Supposedly, Lucy and Tara had planned a little celebration for he and Bobby, recruiting Amelia into their plans to allow them to stay past visiting hours on the promise to remain undisruptive since they all had to work so late. Never had he suspected when Sue told him that they had called and planned to come visit that it would end out like this. He was always been slightly embarrassed about recieving and opening gifts from people other than family, especially when it was not even Christmas or his birthday. But they were his family...well, that...and Demetrius insisted while Tara and Lucy gave them the threatening brow. At least he had Bobby to go through it with him, though Bobby seemed much more pleased and willing to recieve the attention. Not that Jack was not grateful, he felt more overwhelmed by it all than anything...it was just that there had always been something that made him feel funny about having people spend money on him.

But he could not honestly say that he was not enjoying himself; it had been so long since the whole team had been able to do anything like this.

Jack could feel the smile widen on his face and the familiar motion of his chest that he had taken for granted for so long; the motion that should have been followed by a laugh, or a chuckle, at least. Yes, he could feel it, but he could not hear it. Nothing but the sound of his breathing and the noise from the friendly faces around him penetrated the annoyingly constant beeping of his and Bobby's monitors and health equipment.

Gently laying aside the cartoon card that had caused his initial would-be-laugh, given to him by Lucy, along with a cowboy teddy bear, he signed _thank you _to her and accepted the large present wrapped in paper. Tara would pick the Super Man paper, wouldn't she? Jack smirked at the thought as he and Bobby both recieved their gifts and slowly tore the paper open, listening to the others hurrying chatter as they urged him on impatiently.

When the juvenile paper was torn and cleared away by Sue into the large garbage bag, Jack's eyes widened and his brows rose as he held up the large square surface, about the size of an average gameboard. After looking at the pearly white surface beneath the industrial clear covering plastic for several seconds, a smile slowly spread over his lips as Sue's hand crept subtly over the sheets from her place at the foot of his bed and rested on his knee, gently stroking his gown with her thumb.

"I...thought that you might find it of some help," Tara said simply, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as though uncertain that she had done the right thing. Jack could tell that his slowed movements and lack of a reaction was making her nervous. "There's two...one for the office and one for...well, for anywhere else...They fold in half, so you could stick in in a briefcase, a backpack, or even one of those file bags that you carry sometimes...there's...something else...on the back." Tara finished lamely, her expression falling, the idea that she had done more harm than good written clearly all over her face.

With a brief look around the room, then to Tara, then to Sue, Jack unpeeled the tape that held the extra package on the back and tore it open. With a little help from Sue's more nimble fingers, they managed to tear off the soft plastic covering. Opening the smaller package, Jack selected a blue colored marker and the dry erase board on top.

**This is really great, Tara**, Jack wrote in his hurried but legible scrawl, his smile broadening and Tara smiled, too, thrilled. **Perfect. You're the best!**

"That's really nice, Tara," Demetrius agreed kindly, his arm lying lazily around Donna's shoulders on the couch.

"Hmm...and all I got you was a new pen and legal pad," Myles stated sardonically, playfully throwing them across them room towards Jack and Sue from Demetrius's other side.

Jack caught the pen between his fingers and Sue managed to stop the notepad before it hit her.

**What did you get Bobby? **Jack asked, looking towards his friend as he laughed heartily. When Bobby failed to see him or pay the slightest attention, Jack took the pillow that Lucy offered from the chair at his side and chucked it at him forcefully.

"What the...?" Bobby began, finally affording Jack his attention. "Well, I got your point, mate, but was that necessary?" He held up his smaller gift with a smile. "Tara gave me watch...I would say that she cared about me more to get me such a luxurious gift...until I saw the Smurfs on it."

"Eh, well," Tara shrugged then smiled wryly. "If the shoe fits."

"You calling me a little blue man?" Bobby asked, feigning outrage at the thought as everyone laughed.

"No," Sue explained seriously, holding her unpreventable smile until the joke was made. "She's calling you the little blue girl that was on that show...And don't be so offended by the blue part. You were pretty blue a few weeks ago. Figuratively, of course...not literally."

"Ha-ha! Sheila's got puns, now, does she?" Bobby replied to her sarcasm and self-satisfied smile. "Joking about my poor state of health! Is there no decency in the world, anymore? Can't a man be a surviving hero with his best mate without the torment?"

"Well, what fun is that?" Myles asked, earning himself a knock over the head with the same pillow that Jack had used as ammo.

"Hey, Jack," Demetrius called, pulling Jack's humored attention away from Bobby and Myles as they began to argue like boys on a playground. "Where did your family go?"

**They're staying in a hotel down the street. **Jack answered, getting more and more used to writing on the board quickly. **Sue said that she told them about tonight and that they said that they may come a little later. Apparently my dad had some business calls to make and my mom had a bad headache.**

Demetrius nodded his head at Jack's answer, noticing the serious expression that came over his young friend's face, and did not press the issue. Jack had not thought it necessary to inform the team that he had not actually spoken to his parents since the day after he had came out of his coma, when they had decided that they needed to "talk some sense into him". His brothers had still come to see him, at least once, a day and Allie had continued to come visiting up until just two days prior. But he saw no need in raising the team's hostilities towards his parents, and he trusted Sue entirely to go along with his wishes in this matter.

A light knock on the wooden door behind them resounded through the room before the door opened at Sue's call. In walked two of the objects of their brief discussion. Everyone recognized them as Jack's siblings, but no clever comments or good-natured jokes were directed at them on their arrival, which was saying something for this team.

"Hey, Jack," Mason said, coming to shake his brother's hand. "It's good to see you sitting up and that brace off of your neck. Feeling any better."

_A little_, Jack signed, accepting his hand, and then James's.

"He said 'a little'," Sue translated for them, but Jack noticed the well-disguised nervousness and timidness in her voice as she spoke; neither would have ever been there had his family treated her as she deserved to be treated in the first place.

"Yeah, we got that," James said to her, his face as hard as bricks, but his voice not hostile or harsh.

However, Jack knew that his voice would make no difference to Sue; his expression was everything, and she already felt on edge whenever they were around. It would have been a lie to say that Jack did not feel very angry with his family ever since he had waken. It would have been a lie to say that he did not wish that they would return to Wisconsin and leave Sue and he to pick up the pieces of their relationship together. If they did not want Sue, then he did not want them. He loved his family deeply, but his love for Sue could make him hate everything about how they behaved and treated her and his friends and colleagues. Love the sinner, hate the sin, right? Wasn't that what Sue had told him one day after a particularly gruesome mass murder case, when Jack's anger and desire to avenge those strangers that had died had grown to an almost frightening height.

"Well," Sue said slowly, breaking the thick silence that had fallen over the room. "I think I'll go on a coffee run, really quick. Does anyone want anything?"

When nothing but shaken heads and mumbled 'no's came as her reply, Sue turned herself around on the mattress on her bottom and hopped off. Jack watched her head towards the door as his outrage at his brothers grew. Darting his eyes between the three of them, unable to say anything, even if he could find the words, Jack noticed the change in Mason's face as he elbowed James in the side.

With a final glance at Sue before she closed the door behind her, Jack saw her wipe at her dampened eyes with one hand. Her other hand wrapped self-comfortingly around her waist beneath her black sweater and her hand, wet with tears, wiped away the moisture that his own blood and bone had caused onto the thigh of her dark blue jeans.

Before Jack could even look up to lose his temper at his brothers, they were moving away from his bed and towards the door.

* * *

><p>Sue moved quickly as she walked down the nearly empty corridor of the recovery ward, mopping up the tears that she had been unable to hold back. Didn't she have any self-control over her emotions, at all? Crying like this! She was only going to make things worse on Jack and have him not speaking to his brothers, too! Turning sharply into the small alcove off of the hallway that led to the men and womens' bathrooms and the refreshment room, Sue nearly fell through the glass door, desperate to get into more closed quarters. In the hallway it felt open, a vulnerable situation.<p>

The tears continued to fall down her cheeks, dropping onto her jeans occasionally, making the dark material darker. She pulled the black sleeve of one arm of her sweater over her palm and held it there with her fingers, using it to dry her own tears. She already knew that Jack's family did not like her, did not approve, so why was his eldest brother's rudeness so shocking and heartbreaking to her?

A light tap on her shoulder made her jump in surprise, but her surprise only grew when she looked up from where she had sank to the floor against the wall to see Mason and James standing over her.

"Ms. Thomas...well, um...Sue...I guess," Mason began, his eyes and expression soft and almost worried. He really did look like Jack; she had never really thought so before...but she had never seen anything but anger from him before, either. "We wanted to talk to you. We want to apologize for everything."

"Mason, please," Sue answered his hurried explanation as to their sudden appearance, trying to wipe away the last of her tears with as much dignity as she could muster. "You don't have to..."

"Yes, we do," James interrupted her carefully, even his face growing somewhat softer. "Sue, we owe you so much more than an apology. We owe you our thanks...for doing what we could not have. You saved our brother, in more ways than one. We cannot tell you how very sorry we are for our behavior towards from our very first meeting, but you deserve us at least trying. We were terrible, and we are sorry. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Mason began again and Sue felt a little overcome with the sheer earnestness in their eyes and faces. "Look, we were wrong. We believed Allie when we shouldn't have, just because we've known her for a long time, and were horrible to you because we thought that we were having to defend her. That's no excuse for how we acted, but you should know that it was never really personal. We don't even know you...how could we hate you as much as we thought that we should? I mean, I said something aweful...about not wanting to be around someone 'like you'. Please understand that I didn't mean you being deaf, I know it probably seemed that way, but it's not what I meant. I didn't think before I spoke. I meant pushy police people who think that they can shove their way into anyone's personal family matters. I know now that you had a right to, but please understand that we don't have prejudices against that. Our parents do, but we don't. We promise."

"Well, um," Sue began, unable to collect her thoughts quickly enough to speak before James spoke again.

"Sue," James said, reminding her incredibly of Jack. "All explanations and excuses aside. We have been utterly unmitigated asses...and we apologize. Please...please forgive our behavior and let us try to earn your friendship. If Jack could fall so in love with you as we saw the other day, then there must be something very special there to love. Please...we've never had a sister before, and I would hate to start a relationship with one with nothing but hatred, hurt feelings, and shame on our parts."

Sue sat in stunned silence for several seconds before answering, trying to get her mind to catch up. The sudden turn around of Mason and James's attitudes towards her had happened so quickly, but her instinct told her that they were sincere. Wiping away the dampness that threatened in her eyes before it had the chance to form tears, Sue extended her other hand to them both and shook their large hands in turn.

"How about we start with friends?" Sue asked with a watery and still somewhat-unsure smile.

It was surprising, but not shocking when Mason pulled her into a hug. The sudden change from hate to friendship left her confused and more emotional than ever, but they were Jack's brothers, after all.

She could and would forgive and forget, for Jack's sake, if nothing else.

**Ok, kind of long and kind of spotty. I tried to get the point across as clearly as possible, but I'm not certain that I did that great of a job. I hope that you enjoyed and please review to let me know how I did. I would really like to know if I wrote this one too spotty...I love to know people opinions and constructive criticism is always a wonderful teacher. Please review! :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that is recognizable from the show.**

**Also, a great big thank to cheliosfan, SailorJP, Huck05, JaS2g, and Fanpire101 for your reviews and thank you to everyone still reading this.**

_I love it, honey, _Jack signed, slowly lowering himself into a more comfortable position in the bed. He turned the cardboard box over in his hand to read the information on the back.

"It comes with two," Sue answered with a small and tired smile, stifling a delicate yawn as she pulled her sweater off of her head, leaving only the form-fitting dark red camisole beneath. "One for the office, and one for your personal computer. I think it'll make a perfect pair with the whistle that Demetrius and Donna got for you."

_Who think of thing like this? _Jack asked, pulling his eyes away as Sue reached into her bag for a pair of light purple pajama bottoms, but knowing that she was watching him as he adverted his eyes decently.

"I'm deaf, Jack," Sue answered, pulling her pants on as she watched him finger the corner of the box again as his eyes roamed the writing on the back. "There are a lot of things out there to aide in non-hearing...and non-speaking...people living normal lives. Some computers come with a feature similiar to it, but our computers at work don't and most newer laptops don't."

Jack nodded in understanding as he looked back up to her, watching her as she pulled back the privacy curtain. He heard her bid Bobby a good night and Bobby looked up from the cartoon watch that he appeared to be trying to set the time on to wish her the same.

_Me sit up bit first_, Jack signed, adjusting his position again, his body feeling completely restless.

He held his neck fastly stiff as he used his arms to pull himself up farther in the bed and Sue pulled an extra pillow from behind him. This had become such a nightly routine for them; he could hear Bobby snort from his side of the room and see him glance at them from the corner of his eye.

"Better?" Sue asked with another sleepy smile as he used the remote on the handrail to elevate the head of the bed.

_Yes_, Jack answered, pulling down the covers for her and wrapping his arms around her as she slid in beside him. _You rest now. Now I take care you._

Sue lifted her head from its customary place on his chest and intwined her fingers with his on her stomach to stop them. Slowly, she pressed her lips to his, lingering for several seconds in sweet position.

"I love you," she whispered, tracing the line of his jaw with her thumb until it drifted down to the newly changed bandage on his neck.

Her warm soft lips pressed against the area of his neck directly beside it. Without another word, Sue lowered her head back to his chest and Jack pulled the sheet and blanket up to her chin as she snuggled closer to him. He smiled gently when he felt her leg slip between his, tangling themselves with his own; he loved the innocence desire for closeness that she always seemed to have just before she drifted off into the world of sleep, the sheer want to be as close to him as possible...mostly because he felt exactly the same.

_I love you too_, Jack signed in her fingers, also making the _I love you _sign with his other hand as he pulled her closer into him.

He could feel the exhaustion in her as her body relaxed beneath his grip and any tension within her relented into the vulnerable state of unconsciousness. She was asleep in a matter of moments, one last kiss lingering on small space of exposed chest just below his collarbone.

_You plan on wear that? _Jack signed, waving his hand to catch Bobby's attention, then pointing to the watch in his hand.

"Sorry, mate," Bobby answered, his brows furrowing slightly as he tried to concentrate on Jack's hands, the dimmed lights on his friend's side of the hospital room not making it any simpler. "I...didn't catch that. Still a bit slow...maybe if you fingerspell it really slowly."

Jack rolled his eyes at his own forgetfullness and smiled briefly to Bobby. Reaching awkwardly to the table just beside him, unwilling to wake Sue, he clasped his hand around the notepad and pen that Myles had given him.

**I asked if you planned on wearing that, **Jack wrote. He closed the notebook back up, pulling the convenient elastic band around the cover to keep it from opening, and tossed it across the room.

"Eh, sure...why not, I say?" Bobby answered after reading Jack's message; he tossed the notebook back gently, trying to be careful not to hit Sue with it. "Who says that you can't sport a few blue pigmy-type-thingy-es?"

**You would, **Jack wrote with a breath of air that should have been a laugh. He secured the pad and tossed it back.

"Should I be offended?" Bobby asked jokingly, closing the notepad back up. "What was it that Sue got you? Must have been something good for her to wait until everyone left to give it to you. Don't tell me that she got you a blackberry like hers!"

**What good would that do me? **Jack wrote in reply, catching the tablet before it disturbed the woman sleeping on his chest. **It's computer software that uses the computer's speakers to say whatever is typed into the program. How do you even think of something like that?**

"Well, like she said, mate," Bobby answered, fingering the pages as he read them. "She is deaf. I had never even heard of a phone like hers until I saw her using it one day. I guess if they can translate voices into words on a screen, they can makes words on a screen into vocal words outloud. I suppose that since she's always lived having to use things like that, she would naturally think of it rather quickly. You know...you're really lucky, mate."

_I know, _Jack signed, catching the notepad again, but he knew that Bobby knew that phrase. Jack found his eyes glancing back down to the face on his chest and the familiar tingling that he would never really get totally used to ran throughout his body again. **I love her, Bobby. I really do. I can't explain it, but she's just...I can't even explain it.**

"She's amazing, it's as simple as that," Bobby clarified for him, struggling to sit up in his pillows, wincing only slightly. He closed the notepad up again. "That's simple for me to say...but I know how you feel, mate. I've felt the same way before; it's kind of like every cell in your body is aware of her on the slightest prompting. It is hard to explain."

**Well, you did a pretty good job. **Jack replied.

"Yeah, but I think it's different for everyone," Bobby said, his voice growing strangely sober. "I think every girl makes you feel different. Maybe that's why it's so confusing."

**We're getting married in April. I wanted to ask you when we told everybody, but things didn't really turn out that way, did they? Will you be my best man? I was kind of hoping that you could be my best man and Demetrius and Myles grooms' men. **Jack clicked the pen in again as he finished; he really had not had the opportunity to speak with anyone about this and Bobby was the first one that he felt he could relay his real thoughts to. Bobby may poke fun sometimes, but so did he. Bobby was the brother that would be understanding with something like this; he would know what Jack was talking about...or, at least, let him just vent.

"I...I'd love to, Jack," Bobby answered after a moment. "It would be an honor, mate. Thank you. But...can I ask you something?"

**What? **Jack answered, signing _You're welcome_ and _thank you_, as well.

"Can...can you ever forgive me?" Bobby asked, taking a deep breath and getting his worries off of his chest, finally. He needed to talk about this; he needed to know what his best friend was thinking. He needed Jack's forgiveness for causing him to lose something so priceless. "It should be me. It should be me without a voice anymore! I'm so sorry, Jack...I'm...damn it, I'm so stupid!"

The thoughts and emotions of self-hatred that had been eating him alive, even since Tara's talk, poured forth in any uncontrollable rampage against himself. Bobby looked at Jack pleadingly, at times, and closed his eyes tightly in pain or sorrow, at others. If Jack was at all surprised by his outburst, he did an excellent job of hiding it.

"I can't stand this!" Bobby said, barely able to keep his voice at a normal level. "What the hell kind of friend am I? F-, Jack! I'm so sorry, mate! I'm so such an effing drongo for blowing a simple stake-out like that!"

Jack sat in silence as Bobby went on, knowing that the best way to calm him was to let him get it out of his system. It was completely rediculous, the thought that any of this was Bobby's fault; but he needed to let it out. He pulled Sue securely into his arms when she let out a small moan in her sleep and he absentmindedly smoothed her hair with his fingers. Paying rapt attention to his friend, he simply waited.

When silence finally began to return between them, Jack slowly lifted a hand from Sue's shoulder and moved his four fingers in a give-it-here motion. Bobby tossed him the book obediantly.

**Let's get one thing straight, right now, Bobby. I never want to hear you say that again. **Jack wrote, forcing Bobby to have patience; it took more time to right out a conversation than it did to say it. **This was an accident; it's nobody's fault. This kind of stuff happens; it sucks, but it happens. You've always been a good friend to me. More of a brother than my real brothers are. You don't need my forgiveness, because you've done nothing wrong. If it makes you feel better to have it, then consider yourself forgiven a million times over, but that maks no difference to me. It's not your fault, Bobby. It just happened.**

Bobby read the note quickly, struggling as his anger and other raging emotions made him want to cry. Looking back up to argue, Jack's face silenced him in his tracks. His best friend's face was firm and resolved, but not unkind. Even in the dimmer lights of the hospital room, he could see that Jack, too, was trying not to lose it.

This sucked, but he would do as Jack wanted. If that's what Jack thought, then he would let him be.

_Good night_, Jack signed, leaving Bobby in silence.

Several moments later, Bobby turned slightly to look across the room again when a small sound came from the area. Jack's back was turned to him, but he could see the slight quake of his shoulders and hear the raggid breath that he drew.

"Shhh," he heard Sue's soft voice assuage him in a hush and watched as her hand pulled his friend's dark head closer to her chest. "It's alright, Jack. I love you. It's alright...just come here."

Bobby rolled over with some effort to try and sleep, putting everything else in his bed on his side table.

**A/N: Ok, may have been a bit cheesy, but Jack and Bobby needed to have their talk. Please let me know what you think. I've been really stumped with writers' block, so I hope that this one went as I meant it to. I never shy away from constructive criticism...please, it helps me.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. **

**Once again, big thanks to Huck05, cheliosfan, Fanpire101, SailorJP, and JaS2g for your reviews and thanks to those still reading.**

**Ok, once again, I'm really not certain on how to go on with this chapter; but I'll do my best. :)**

"Jack, wake up, son."

Jack turned slightly in the bed against the insistant tapping on his right shoulder, swiftly halting his movements at the sharp and stinging pain in his neck when he turned it an inch too far. More awakened, he breathed a small sigh and blinked his eyes tightly before opening them just a little.

"Mr. Hudson, sir," Jack heard Bobby say from just behind him as someone reached forward from in front of him to mess with his pillows; managing to look up a little, he saw Amelia half smile, half grimace at him bracingly. "With all due respect, he's probably very tired. They do have him on about three different medicines...and the pain medicine that they're giving us makes us both very..."

"Well, he looked like he was getting plenty of sleep with that woman beside him," Jack's father said, rapping on his shoulder again. "Jack, wake up, we have to talk to you."

"Sir, please don't do that too hard, he's still sore," Amelia said firmly, grasping the patient's hand as he shrugged away ever so slightly.

"I bet you'd get some pretty good sleep if that lovely lady was sleeping beside you, too," Bobby argued, the humor in his voice turning spiteful with his anger and annoyance. "No offense, Mrs. Hudson."

_It ok,_ Jack signed after waving his hand to catch Bobby's attention. He breathed heavily and used Amelia's supporting arm to help him to turn over, his joints and muscles still sore and cramped from the mixture of medication and far too much rest in one position. A moment later, Amelia had provided him with one of the boards and markers that Tara had given him the night before. **What do you want?**

"To talk to you...privately," his father answered.

**Well, I'm sorry**, Jack replied with a forcedly civil smile. **This is Bobby's room, too, and I'm not asking my friend to go anywhere. Where's Sue?** Jack turned to Amelia.

"She left just when we got here," Mrs. Hudson said quickly, her voice clearly aggitated as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Now can you please focus, Jack?"

"She was going to get Levi from her and Lucy's apartment." Bobby cut his mother off, talking more firmly to be heard over her. "She woke up about three hours ago and said that she was missing him...wanted to go get him. Can't have Levi or that sheila getting depressed on us, now can we?"

"I really don't see how it's healthy to bring a dirty, wild animal into a hospital where people are trying to heal," Mr. Hudson said annoyedly.

"They're not bringing in a dirty, wild animal," Amelia suddenly flared, dropping the IV tube that she had just finished injecting medicine into. "From what I've seen, that dog is more fit for human company than you...not to mention far more well behaved."

With that, Amelia turned and strode imperiously to the door. "I'll be back to check on you two a little later...perhaps, when the air clears," she said before closing the heavy wooden door behind her.

The four were left in a stunned silence, until Mr. Hudson moved to sling the thick curtain around the area surrounding Jack's bed, effectively blocking Bobby from seeing what Jack wrote, but not from speaking out in protest.

**You can say whatever you want, but it wont change a thing, **Jack wrote quickly after wiping the board clean with a tissue from his side table and turning it for them both to see.

"Jack, stop being so nonsensical," Mr. Hudson said, stepping towards the bed. "I swear, I don't know where on Earth you've gotten this rediculous stubborness from! This is so stupid, Jackson!"

**Stupid to you because it's not what you wanted, **Jack wrote, feeling as though the shout in his chest would cause him another heart attack if he did not get it out of him. Everything in his body was screaming, but he uttered not a sound. **Just go home. This is just how it's been for the past couple of years, isn't it? Don't try to pretend that we're the perfect family, because we're not, and I'm tired of trying to convince myself that this is all normal. It's only getting worse and worse; every Christmas, Thanksgiving, you name it...they all start out good and end like this.**

"That's not true," Mrs. Hudson whimpered and Jack sighed as she pulled out another tissue to dab at her eyes, knowing that she was just trying to be manipulative because Jack would naturally feel bad for making his mother cry. "Why are you being like this Jack? And worse, you have Mason and James going along with it...Allie's went back to New York; she said that she couldn't take anymore of the deception and heartbreak."

Jack heard as his father began to take up the arguement, but did his utmost to block him out. Erasing the board, he went to work writing again.

**I love you both, I hope that you both know that; but this is rediculous, **he scrawled quickly, trying his best to address every accusation that they had thrown at him. **Your prejudices are rediculous and I almost hate you for them, especially for what they've done to all of us over the past few years. I don't know why you seem to think that you are so much better than people like Sue...and people like me. It's completely cruel and unfounded; it makes no sense and only damn idiots would judge anyone on how God made them. I don't expect you to understand, but you should be proud of Mason and James. I know that I dead-well am. And Allie and I haven't been together for months...maybe even a year. You know that; I've told you that. That's what we argued about last time. Just because she's the one that you two picked for me in high school, doesn't mean anything. **

Sue stepped quietly through the doorway, smiling as Levi followed her closely, licking her hand excitedly. The large white curtain was drawn around Jack's bed; Amelia must have been helping him change for the day. Shrugging slightly, she pulled off her scarf and began to work on her coat as she rounded the curtain to where Bobby's bed was.

"H..." she smiled, but it dropped immediately when Bobby waved a hand at her hurriedly and pressed a finger to his lips.

_What? _she signed, unsure if this was one that Bobby knew.

_Parents, _Bobby fingerspelled after a moment, catching the gist of what the gesture meant. He pointed to the curtain. _You go._

Sue's brows narrowed slightly in confusion, knowing that Bobby would not send her over there for nothing. Slowly, she pulled Levi's leash off of her wrist with a brief rub on the head and handed it to Bobby, who patted on the bed for Levi to join him. Watching the dog leap happily to the mattress and settle beside the Aussie as he rubbed him halfway-enthusiastically, Sue stepped back towards the way she had come.

Taking a small breath, Sue pulled the curtain away from the wall a fraction, then wide enough for her to step through and watched the conversation being laid before her.

"Jackson," Mr. Hudson was saying, his hands held out in front of him as he spoke, clearly exasperated. "This is ludicrous. What good could possible come from marrying someone that can't hear? Her life basically depends on those around her and a dog, for Christ's sake!"

Sue watched as the anger on Jack's face grew to rage, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, whether sad or angry, she could not distinguish.

**You don't say shit like that! **she saw Jack write after watching his fingers fumble around angrily for a moment, almost making signs, but never completing them. **Get the hell out of here! **

"No, not until we've done our best, as parents, to do what is right for you," Mrs. Hudson said, her stepping forward towards Jack's bed catching Sue's attention. "You have no idea what you're doing! Allie would be for you in a time like this...nothing's going to be the same, for you, now. It won't be the same for anyone. You can't speak, Jack...it's terrible, but it's the truth...and you have to take other things into consideration. Considerations like the fact that Allie has known you and been around ever since high school...this woman has only worked with you for a few years. Are you going to throw away a long-time relationship with Allie for a woman that you've known for barely a fraction of your life?...What if she's not as ready to accept that your handicapped as you seem to think that she is?"

Anger. These were tears of anger, Sue determined as she tossed the curtain aside and strode forward. Civility and goodness aside, she had never felt so outraged in her entire life.

"Dont' you dare!" she fairly shouted, unaware of exactly how loud the voice coming from her was. "Don't you dare put that into his head! Do you think that I care that he can't speak? I can't even hear! It makes no difference, in the world, to me! How could I miss his voice anymore than I already have when I've never even heard it? I don't even know what it would be like to experience it! If I've been upset by his losing that, for any reason, it would be for him!"

"Whether you can hear it, or not," Mrs. Hudson argued, recovering from the shock that Sue's sudden appearance and outburst had caused her quickly. "It's still a loss...he can no longer do things that he used to be able to."

"Like what?" Sue asked sardonically, her fists beginning to clench.

"Plenty of things! We have no need to explain ourselves to the likes of you!" Mr. Hudson answered for his wife, avoiding a true answer, all together. "This is a Hudson family matter...kindly step out of it."

"Well, she is about to become a Hudson, whether you like it or not," Amelia argued, returning to the room and placing her hands on Sue's shoulders briefly before crossing to the heart rate monitor at Jack's side. "I'm going to have to ask the two of you to leave immediately. I will not stand aside and allow to upset my charges. I will call security if I have to, and it's never a good idea to make someone do that when two federal employees are the patients."

"I can't believe..." Mr. Hudson began, but Jack grabbing for something that hung on the handrail of the bed caught Sue's eye.

She saw him blow on the small black whistle harshly, the noise obviously loud from the looks on Amelia's and his parents' faces. But it had the effect that he had been seeking; his parents looked to him finally.

**I'm done with this. I'm marrying Sue because I love her. I've loved her for years. Why do you think that I never stayed with Allie? If you have any decency, go back to Wisconsin, and stay there. **The writing on the board was as blatant and unmoving as if he had said the words, his expression as hard and cold as ice.

Sue watched as his parents looked as though they were about to argue, but Amelia crossed over to them after readjusting the blood pressure cuff on Jack's arm.

"Leave now, or security will be here within the minute."

Thankfully, without another word, they departed. However, Sue did not miss the looks of filthy disgust that they gave her in passing.

* * *

><p>"Sheila, I'm telling you that you were bloody brilliant!" Bobby exclaimed, pulling Amelia down toward him by the arm and placing a playful peck on her cheek. "I'm going to marry you for that!"<p>

"Oh, hush, you," Amelia laughed with a roll of her eyes. "I'm your mother's age. Now, be a good little boy and take your medicine."

"Fine, then," Bobby relented, grimacing with distaste as he swallowed down the thick red liquid that she handed him. "But you are now part of the team, no doubt about it! Isn't that right, oh, hallowed team leader, Sparky? Our secret little partner in healthcare! Deal?"

_Yes, _Jack signed with a small smile as Sue fussed about his hair with a comb and translated for him, though she was almost certain that it was unnecessary.

"If I say that it's a deal, will you leave it alone?" Amelia sighed, taking back the small plastic measuring cup and tossing it into the trash bin by the wall.

"Kiola Scouts' honor," Bobby held his hand up in a mock salute.

"What's a Kiola Scout?" Sue asked, attempting to tame a stubborn cow-lick in Jack's hair and failing miserabley.

"Not a clue, my dear sweet, Sue," Bobby admitted as a knock resounded at the door and a smiling Tara poked her head in sneakily before entering all the way.

"Hi, guys," Tara grinned cheekily as Lucy, Myles, and Demetrius filed in behind her. "Safe to come in? I heard that there was a particularly amazing nurse and female F.B.I. agent on the rampage."

Sue let out a small sigh as her eyes met Jack's and then Amelia's, the latter rolling her eyes again. This really was not a funny matter; it was bothering all parties involved, even Bobby, though he was seeing the bright side of things very well. Sue could not find herself able to blame the team for their customary glee at any small victory, however; she knew that they all understood and cared deeply, how could she censure them for their obvious and some-what effective attempts to lighten the mood of the situation and cheer her and Jack up?

"I brought pizza to celebrate their impending departure to cheese-ville!" Lucy announced, holding up a large brown box for all to see. "No offense to you, of course, Jack...cheese-ville is a good thing when it comes to you."

_Ok, _Jack signed with a yeah-sure-it-is expression on his face. The few hours that he had been awake had already thoroughly exhausted him, but he was glad of the team's company. He needed this. He needed a few smiling faces and the familiar banter that they all so enjoyed.

"Oh, yeah," Demetrius suddenly said, turning to the rest of the room and waving his hand for Sue's attention. "I'm sorry, Jack...but we forgot the blender. No puree, no pizza."

**I suspected as much, **Jack scribbled on his notepad and tossed it to Demetrius.

"But don't feel too discouraged, my friend," Myles warned him, holding out a hand as though help were surely on the way as Jack heard Demetrius chuckle at his note and toss it to Bobby, who asked to see it. Myles reached into the paper bag in his hand and pulled out two pint-sized containers. He feigned a gasp of surprise as he looked down to read off of the labels. "Would you look at that! Pizza flavored ravioli...with small bits of pepperoni, to boot! Tsk, tsk, tsk...being in the hospital is spoiling you. It even has cheese in it, you Wisconsin native...plus! It's 'safe for consumption by young children, ages one year and up'."

"You lucky, drongo," Bobby said sarcastically, his face remaining as straight as a board as he shook his head in pretend disbelief.

"What!" Amelia cried, getting in on her share of the fun. She snatched the second container from Myles's willing hand and made a scene of shaking her hand at the coldness of it; she was just as happy for the change of the subject as Sue and Jack. "Double chocolate ice cream?...with an 'optional package of sprinkles'? You lucky dog...no, not you, Levi...this one up here by your mistress. Oh, well...I suppose this is better than what we've been giving you."

"Jack doesn't like gelatin," Lucy said, scrunching her nose up as Jack and Sue both managed a real laugh. "Especially, not cherry."

"Hmm...well, I'll be sure to get him extra of that," Amelia smiled, handing the ice cream back to Myles and trading for the can of ravioli. "I had better go and warm up the only partially-healthy portion of this meal. Be back in a jiff!"

"I never understood that saying," Demetrius said, his eyebrows narrowing in thoughtfulness. "Everyone says it, but what could a 'jiff' possibly be?"

"That's another good one!" Tara answered quickly, returning to the game that she had started so long ago and seemed to be the only one continuing it. "It came from..."

"Oh, no, sheila," Bobby interrupted her loudly, grabbing her hand and pulled her down onto his lap, messing her hair into her face and covering her mouth to silence her. "There's something on you...right there...don't worry, I've got it. Quick, Sparky, the duct tape!"

Jack's chest rose and fell rapidly in humor, watching the scene being played out. Sue's hand tightened in his in subtle acknowledgement before she slipped off of the bed, joining Lucy in Tara's rescue.

"Jack, what's up?" another voice called from the door and Jack turned to see Mason enter the room, closely followed by James, who held a shoebox-sized cake box in his hand. "Mr. Leland, there, called and told us that there was a party going on."

"And you know us," James said, his usual stoney expression completely contradiction his words. "Never ones to miss a party."

"Call him Myles," Sue said, coming forward to welcome his brothers. She was honestly surprised when Mason swooped her into a brotherly hug, even moreso when James followed suit, though not quite as brashly. "Otherwise, he gets a pretty big head."

Sue took the box from James's hand and set it on the table beneath the window by Bobby's bed, charging Demetrius with ensuring its survival around the boisterous group.

"How could you forget paper plates?" Myles was suddenly demanding of Lucy, only one conversation among the throng of others. "It's a pic-nic...in a hospital...not in your apartment."

"Oh, hush, Myles," Lucy argued, brushing him off as she always did. "We can use paper towels just as easily."

Jack turned his head slightly back to the left to see Sue suddenly hoarded into the corner beside him by his brothers. It took him a moment to recognize what it was that they were doing, their conversation in whispers too low for him to hear.

He was not sure what it was, but it was something akin to sheer amazement and no small measure of happiness that rose in his chest when he realized that Sue was showing them something with her hands. He recognized the signs that she was forming. _I. Brother. Love. M-A-S-O-N. J-A-M-E-S. J-A-C-K. Family. S-U-E. Team. Game. _Her nose and mouth were screwed up in that adorable way that it always did when she was trying to think of something. Jack had never imagined that his brothers would take the pains of asking Sue to teach them to sign...even this little bit. Yes...that was definately amazement that stung at his insides and caused a new pain altogether in his throat.

Yes, this was home. He may have lost original one...but this was home enough for him.

**Ok, how was that? I'm trying to get a realistic point across about how Jack parents are in this particular story without blowing everything out of proportion and making them un-humanly evil. I'll try to explain a little more fully in a later chapter. But please let me know what you think of this one, not entire certain that it was done to par, but I'm alright with it thus far. **

**By the way, Levi's back now. Thank you Huck05 for reminding and correcting me. How on earth could I have forgotten to include Levi the Wonder Dog?**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: Not mine! :)**

**Another thanks to SailorJP, Fanpire101, JaS2g, Huck05, Pattyfer78, and Gemmakins for the reviews and to those still reading on in this story. **

"Now, Mr. Hudson!" Amelia said with great exasperation, closing the door behind her and crossing to where Jack was standing before the sofa, looking out the window. "How many times do I have to tell you that you really don't need to be standing up? Please, give my poor old heart a rest, and stay in your wheelchair, for once."

Jack relented as she pushed the chair behind him and pulled downward on his arms to lower him into the chair, her kind nursing hands much more cautious than was needed. The sound of Bobby chuckling from his own bed had Jack rolling his eyes.

_My neck ill, _Jack signed, not expecting a response from either, but genuinely surprised when Bobby answered him. _No my leg or feet._

"Now, be a good little bloke, Jack, and listen to Mummy," Bobby chided, smiling smugly, but rubbing at his chest lightly over the place where a bandage still lay protectively. "We know that your neck has the booboo...but we don't want you taking a fall."

"The both of you better behave," Amelia shot at him with a wry smile of false threat. "Or 'Mommy' will have to give the both of you a good whooping."

"What the devil is a 'whooping'?" Bobby asked, satisfied when he saw Amelia sign in resignation.

**Spanking, **Jack clarified, snatching up his board and marker and pulling the top off with his teeth. **And Mr. Hudson is my father. I'm Jack, Jackson, Jack Hudson, or Agent Hudson, please.**

"Don't forget 'Sparky'!" Bobby amended quickly.

"That's right," Amelia nodded with a small smile; they may try her patience to see just how far that she would let them toe the line, but their antics amused her. "...Sparky."

"Hello," a soft voice said from the door and Jack wheeled himself around to see Sue slip into the small gap that she created for herself in the door. "How is everything going?"

_Hey, Sweetheart, _Jack signed with a welcoming smile at the sight of her.

"Well, we were just discussing punishment methods for these two," Amelia answered with a sarcastic and playful smile, returning Sue's one-armed hug. "But I think that you can do a significantly better job of that than I can. We, unfortunately, have to sign some silly policy about...well...what they call 'abuse and restraint'. Rediculous, right?"

**We were just having fun, weren't we, Bobby? **Jack defended.

"As sure as a koala sleeps!" Bobby concurred.

"Absolutely," Sue agreed, setting her bag on Jack's freshly made mattress, followed closely by her long wool coat and scarf. She reached forward and lightly stroked Jack's shoulder in the one area where he claimed it was still sore, almost subconsciously. "Can't I sign some kind of waver or something."

**This is treason! **Jack wrote, tapping on the board loudly in mock outrage as Bobby agreed furiously.

"Where's that sense of loyalty that we always loved so much about you, Sue?" Bobby demanded, pulling himself up in the bed and lowering the volume of the hockey game on the television.

"I'll get right on that," Amelia answered, wrapping the blood pressure cuff around Bobby's upper arm and aligning the arrow with the artery in his inner elbow. "But Mr. Manning, here, is going to need to change...Yes, sir, you need to change. We don't want that little pretty lady of yours coming in here and seeing you still in your pajamas, now do we? Tara doesn't seem like the type to be impressed by flannel pants and a t-shirt."

**See, Crash! I can still beat you; I've been dressed for hours, **Jack wrote, relaxing back into his seat at Sue's prompting after slipping a kiss to her temple. **And when, exactly, did Tara become your 'little pretty lady'?**

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, Sparky. She's not 'my lady'," Bobby grumbled grudgingly, recieving the clothes that Amelia pulled out of the drawers beside his bed and offered him. "Do you mind pulling that curtain, please, Amelia?"

"There's no need." Sue stopped her arm gently as it reached for the white curtain. "Special Agent Hudson, here, has prior engagements."

"What?" Bobby smirked, thankful for the change of topic from Tara. "Is it date night, or something? You know the rule, mate: have her back by nine-thirty, sharp. Her father has me keeping an eye on her...but her brothers have me keeping both."

_Doctor, _Jack signed, making the sign for the letter D and tapping it against his opposite inner wrist.

"Oh," Bobby backed off, flexing his arm slightly when Amelia removed the pressure cuff to get his circulation back on track. "Well, in that case...Sue, don't do anything that I wouldn't do...actually...on second thought, don't do anything that I _would _do. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Sue smiled with a playful salute, pulling a blonde hair from Jack's dark blue sweater.

"Oh, hush, Bobby," Amelia swatted at him, sticking the thermometer stick in his mouth. "They're just going down the hallway. Now, be a good little Australian and put this under your tongue."

"But...," Bobby began to argue, but was cut off by the plastic covered metal stick being arranged in his mouth.

"Let's go," Sue whispered, leaning down close to Jack's ear and setting her black purse in his blue jean clad lap.

* * *

><p>"Alrighty!" Tara said with a bright smile, making a great scene of entering into the hospital room, then adopted the voice of a game show announcer. "Bobbyyyy Manninggggg...are you ready for your lessonnnnn?"<p>

"I thought that lessons on how to communicate with the deaf and mute would be a little more...oh, what's the word?" Bobby answered, pulling himself up from his slouched napping position in his wheelchair. "Oh...quiet!"

"Silence! Students are for learning...not speaking," Tara shot back at him, pulling another large book from her ever present half-purse, half-book bag, shoulder sack and tossing it to Bobby. "Let's get started!"

"Good, on ya, sheila," Bobby laughed, flipping through the first few chapters. "Adjectives today, right?"

"Yep!" Tara smiled, settling herself on the end of the sofa closest to his chair and pulling off her coat; she dropped both her outer garment and her heavy bag on the floor in the corner. "You seem to have most common nouns and verbs down now."

* * *

><p>"He said 'thank you', Dr. Perkins," Sue translated as she watched Jack's hands move quickly, not missing the hardened change of his features. "Um...could we just have a few minutes? There's really no other private place to go."<p>

"Sure," Dr. Perkins nodded, stepping towards the door of his private office. "Take as long as you need; please, just shut the door and turn off the lights behind you."

Sue gave him a small smile of gratitude and nodded her acquiescence, gently closing the door behind him. Her hands lingered on the doorknob for several seconds before she turned back slowly towards Jack. Pulling nervously on the cuffs of her white collared shirt with both hands, she moved back to where he sat, unmoving. His back was facing her, but she could see that his hand was covering his face as he propped an elbow on the arm of his wheelchair.

"Jack?" Sue asked quietly, kneeling down in front of him and resting both hands on his knees.

_Sorry, _Jack signed automatically upon the contact, looking up to meet her gaze briefly before looking away again to anywhere else but at her.

"For what?" Sue asked, her entire body hurting for him as she watched him suffer in almost profound silence, the way he always did.

Jack merely shook his head in answer, the annoying burning at the back of his eyes starting to get the better of him. He could not keep doing this. He could not continue forcing her to comfort him in his moments of self-pity. He could not keep tossing her emotions around with every violent torrent of his own.

"Jack," Sue repeated, rubbing at the knee of his jeans with her thumbs, her quivering voice becoming his undoing. "Please...please, talk to me."

_I no do this, Sue! _Jack finally signed, his breathing coming ragid gasps as he fought against the feelings inside of him. _I no hurt you. No more. I ok. It nothing._

"Jack," Sue begged, the tears escaping her as she watched him beginning to escape within him...beginning to shut her out. "It isn't nothing. Please, Jack...please, you can talk to me about this. I want you to. I need you to. Don't you still trust me?"

_Yes, I trust you, _Jack signed back, his anger growing furiously at himself when a tear escaped, followed closely by several of its fellows. _I no talk about this to you anymore. I have no right._

"Jack, honey," Sue said shakily, wiping at her eyes with her fingers to clear her vision. "What are you talking about?"

_How I feel sorry for self? _Jack finally relented, venting all of the thoughts that he had refused to share with her since the moment that he had woken from his induced coma and was told of his condition. _You deaf. You no complain. Never. You no feel sorry for self. You be amazing to do what you no should be able. You live past deafness. I have no right feel sorry for self. You better. I want be better for you._

"Jack," Sue breathed, shocked at the comprehension of what he was trying to get across to her. "You...you shouldn't think like that...No, listen to me. You should never think that you have no right to mourn a loss like this...It's only natural that this should hurt, especially at first. But it will get better. But...you'll never heal if you don't take time to cope with it."

_Time heal,_ Jack insisted, reaching out to touch her face, his resolve holding firm. The pain that he saw in her every aspect only made his own pain that much sharper to know that he was its cause.

"No!" Sue finally said loudly, frustration growing in her chest. "No...time won't heal this. Time only heals when we take the time to deal with our problems and learn to let them go. If you just try to shove this away and not deal with it...time will only breed anger and bitterness. Jack, I...I love you...but I can't marry a man like that. Please...don't make me say goodbye to you over this. Please, let me be here for you and help you get through this."

_It no you burden! _Jack signed, not meaning for his expression to be as harsh as it was, but unable to mask all of his own frustration. _I no want this for you. You deserve better. You deserve man that whole. How you love man that no talk?_

Sue could not believe this. Where had all of this come from?

"Sweetheart," Sue began to cry, sinking to her bottom in a sitting position, but reaching for his hands and demanded his eye contact. "How could you love a deaf girl? How could you love a girl that's never even heard you laugh or has no clue what your voice sounds like? How could you love a girl that can't even imagine what it would be like to hear you...or even your future children speak? Jack...I don't care that you can't talk...and neither does anyone else...please, just listen. Jack...what I said to your mother was the truth; I didn't just say it to prove myself or to shut her up...I meant it. I love you...but you not having a voice makes absolutely no difference to me. No difference, aside from the fact that it is hurting you so badly."

The tears were now falling grudgingly down Jack's face, his resolve beginning to crumble to reveal the true feelings below. How had he made a bad position even worse? Every emotion within him seemed to jumble and scramble themselves up until he could not even understand them or sort them. He was angry for himself for his self-pitying. He was angry at himself for making Sue suffer with him. But now he was angry at himself for what he had done to her now. He only wanted what was best for her; by trying to be strong and protect her from anymore hurt, he now watched her as she hurt even more than the day that they saw David in the park.

_Sue, _Jack signed, pulling on her hands to lift her from her position on the floor and guide her to his lap, releasing what he had just previously held back in a last desperate attempt to make things better. He could no longer control any aspect of the sobs tearing from within him now as he sorrowed for both Sue and the doctor's news that there had been no change...that there was no reason to believe that he would ever be able to speak again. _Please help me. I no know why it hard now. I know already I not able talk. Why it hurt?_

"Because, you had some hope," Sue answered him, allowing herself to melt within his arms as she held his head against her chest as he cried, rubbing the back of his neck comfortingly. "Because, he took your hope away...even if you didn't really know that you had it. Jack...listen to me...never forget about God. Never forget that everything is in his will...if it's will for you to speak again...don't you ever let a doctor's diagnosis discourage you. And if it's not in his will..."

_Then there reason I no speak, _Jack finished for her, signing against her leg.

"Yes," Sue agreed, pressing her lips to his forehead. "And never forget that I love you, no matter what. Please, Jack...don't ever consider the possibility that this will ever bother me, for my sake...because I can guarentee you that it doesn't. I love you."

_I love you, _Jack signed against her leg, pulling his head up slowly with only minimal pain from his bandaged area to press his tear moisted lips against hers.

Through every turmoil within him, at that moment, he did manage to send up a prayer of thanks for her...and a prayer for strength to be the man that she deserved; the man that he wanted to be for her.

**Ok, I hope that this got across sufficiently. It took me forever to write this chapter because I was trying to convey it correctly, but the multitude of thoughts and emotions were proving very difficult to get out. I hope that this chapter was alright; I don't usually have as hard of a time as I did with this one. **

**P.S.- Next chapter will be taking place a few months or so later with our heros out of the hospital and back to the case that caused this all! Finally! I feel like this is dragging on a little too long...so let's get a move on, shall we!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I wish!**

**Awww...Yay...102 reviews! :D Thanks so much, you guys and girls! Also, a big thank you to Huck05, cheliosfan, Fanpire101, SailorJP, JaS2g, em shorty, felicity18, Pattyfer78, and friend2friend for your reviews. And, once again, thank you to any of those reading. **

**Sorry that I've taken a bit long on updating, at least long for me; I've been collaborating inwardly on how to continue exactly. Thanks for patience!**

**A/N: Words that are **_**bold and italic **_**are an automated voice. I'm running out of differentiating methods here.**** :)**

**This takes place a little over two months after the previous chapter:**

"Ahh," Myles sighed satisfactorily, leaning back in his chair and propping his shoes onto the edge of his desk. "I love Fridays. There's such a...sense of completion about them."

"What exactly have you completed, so far this week, Harvard?" Bobby asked teasingly, taking a handful of Myles's shoes and shoving them off of the wooden edge as he passed by. He picked up the pot of coffee as those around him laughed quietly and poured two mugs, handing one to Tara.

Jack smiled humorously and shook his head as he noticed that shy little smile that Tara gave him before quickly adverting her eyes back to her computer screen. When Bobby turned back around towards his desk, his eyes met Jack's and Jack cocked an eyebrow at him.

_Little hot in here, yes? _Jack signed casually should anyone else catch the signs.

"I don't know, Sparky," Bobby answered, stopping in front of Jack's desk to rap on it with his knuckles and nodded discretely in Sue's direction, where she sat at her desk, staring at her computer screen. "It must just be you. I thought that it felt pretty nice in here."

"Well, I think it's a bit cold," Lucy interjected, completely oblivious as to the underlying taunting that was passing between two of her male colleagues as she came to stand in front of Sue's desk, her back to the wall so that she could address all three. "Thank God, it's Friday!"

_Big plan? _Jack asked curiously, leaning back in his chair with a smile that feigned interest as Sue looked up to the conversation; he winked at her playfully before returning his gaze to Lucy's challenging stance.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Sue answered for Lucy before she even had the chance to open her mouth, taking Jack by surprise as she bent down to pet Levi's head. "I'm sorry...we only just made the plans this morning with my parents, so I haven't had the chance to tell you. They're coming up for the weekend...my mother said that she wants to help us with our shopping."

"Why does it take three women to go shopping?" Demetrius asked, coming to stand next to Bobby.

"Oh, Sparky here isn't chained and shackled, just yet," Bobby explained as though it made all the sense in the world, rounding the desk to slap Jack good naturedly on the shoulder. "As of April 7, Jack will be the baggage carrier...but until then! These two lovely sheilas just may need a little help with all of those bags."

"Make that four," Tara corrected, popping up behind Demetrius's shoulder and shifting her way past him to stand supportively by Sue and Lucy. "I'm going, too! And this is no ordinary shopping trip, by the way."

"No shopping trip is 'ordinary' when it comes to women, unless it's grocery shopping," Myles stated blandly, rising to his feet, as well, distracted by something beneath his fingernail. "Sue, dear woman...are you preparing to be 'bare foot in the kitchen', as it were? I never thought that I would ever see Jack, here, appreciate grocery shopping so much. You're even making an occasion with the girls of it. How sweet."

Sue made a face of mock offense and threw a pen at him, striking him squarely on the chest.

"Whoa, mate," Bobby exclaimed, putting up his hands as though to tame Myles. "You never say that to a bride-to-be." Bobby moved to Myles's side and leaned closer, as though to whisper something to him and eyed Sue with play nervousness. "Haven't you ever watched any of those shows about true crimes? We deal with them everyday, but there are a lot of _crazy insane _women out there...anything could set her off. Be careful...I happen to like Jack, some."

_**They're going dress shopping for Sue's wedding dress and bride's maids gowns, **_the automated male voice rang out into the silence that lingered after Bobby's not-so-quiet whispers. _**Actually, I was going to ask if you guys would mind helping me get a tux and the suits for you three. **_Then he continued to Sue, in sign. _You father come, too, sweetheart?_

"Awww...will you look at that?" Bobby chided, plastering a mother-hen type smile to his face, leaning an arm across Myles, who mimicked his teasing stature. "He called her 'sweetheart'."

_Jealous? _Jack signed, cocking an eyebrow in Tara's direction, effectively silencing Bobby as the others began to snicker.

"Enough of that, for now," Garrett's deep voice commanded as he strode into the bullpen and came to stand beside Tara, tapping Sue on the arm to assure her attention. "We have some real business to discuss."

"It's not a new case, just before the weekend?" Lucy groaned, preparing to kiss their wedding dresses shopping trip goodbye. "Couldn't the criminals have waited just two days? Who WANTS to work on the weekends?"

"You would think that, well, being a criminal...they would have wanted their weekends off, too," Tara interjected in agreement.

"Don't you know that criminals make their own schedule, silly?" Demetrius asked, messing Tara's short blonde tresses in his fatherly way.

"There's no new case," Garrett went on, halting their banter with a single raised hand. "But there is some news...We couldn't get a warrant for Diana Groves' arrest and her son was released from prison, today. We had SOG on the both of them, but after Mrs. Groves picked up Gabriel Berrinili from his prison release, they've lost them. They could be anywhere...and with the operations that they have going on, I would suggest that you all stay wary. Especially, you two!" Garrett pointed his fingers seriously between Jack and Bobby.

"Hold your horses, Garrett," Bobby smiled, holding his arms out wide as though allowing them all to bask in his glory. "We shouldn't be here, right now. Don't you realize what our very existence means? We're bulletproof!"

_**'Bulletproof' doesn't come out damaged, **_Jack's computer program's automated voice argued as he looked up at Bobby sternly and then nodded to Garrett.

The entirety of the office seemed to fall into a deep silence at the words from the speakers of Jack's computer. It was the first time that he had made any acknowledgement of the damage done to him since his and Bobby's return to work a little over two months prior.

"Correct," Garrett finally said, breaking the silence, his eyes meeting Jack's in mutual understanding. "I won't have any one of you getting hurt because we don't realize the threat against this team. I trust everyone of you; this is the best team that I could have ever asked for. You scared the hell out of me once...please, don't do it again." Garrett leaned down to pet Levi's head fondly with one hand and shake a paw with his other. "I know where the true leadership of this team lies; keep them walking that line, alright Levi?"

Sue could not help the smile that crept over her face as Levi answered Garrett with a sloppy kiss all over his hand and Garrett turned to leave with only one last nod, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his hand.

"Well," Demetrius said, breaking the ice that Jack's last statement of utter truth and realization had caused. "So it's agreed. Tomorrow, Sue, Lucy, Tara, and Mrs. Thomas go shopping for their dresses. Jack, Bobby, Myles, Mr. Thomas, and I will go to rent our tuxes. Ladies...you just tell us what color dresses you decide on and we'll pick our stuff accordingly...unless you already know which color you want?"

"Burgundy," Sue answered, catching Jack's eyes before the rest of those all standing over her and Jack's desks. "The...the colors for wedding...Jack and I agreed would be burgundy."

**Ok, a bit of a filler, but it served it's small purpose. Please, let me know what you think. :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the show. **

**Thanks again for all of those reading this story, and to Huck05, SailorJP, Gemmakins, and JaS2g for your reviews.**

"Come along, Sue, dear," Sue saw Mrs. Thomas say in the corner of her bathroom mirror as worked at pulling her hair back into a half-ponytail. "If you keep this up, we'll be late for your fitting. I can't believe that you two settled on a date that was so soon...it hardly gives you time to plan the wedding. I understand that you want it to hurry up and get here, darling...but a wedding can take months and months to plan to get it done correctly..."

"No, mom," Sue sighed, a small smile creeping up on her face, almost against her will. "Extravagant weddings can take months and months to plan. We're keeping it simple...just the little church on 5th, family and friends, and a small reception at a place down the street from the church. It'll all be alright, mom."

"What place down the street?" Mrs. Thomas asked, halting in her movements of meticulously throwing the pajamas and underclothes that Sue had just shed into the hamper before attacking the bed clothes to look back up to Sue's reflection in the mirror.

"Well," Sue began a bit nervously, knowing that this would be the one aspect of their plans that may set her mother off. "It's...it's actually a very old fire station, but it's been beautifully preserved and the city uses it for small functions now. I can take you down there to see it if you..."

Mrs. Thomas's closed eyes stopped Sue's speech and Sue turned around to look at her mother directly. It was not sadness or disappointment in her mother's expression, but something all together new to Sue; it was something that she could not identify. Her mother's eyes were lightly, a small smile pulled at one corner of her mouth, and she was shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

"Mom?" Sue questioned in a small whisper, feeling much like the child that she used to be after she and her mother had just been in an arguement. Sue released the grasp that she realized she had on the dresser behind her and stepped forward, her hands knotting together anxiously in front of her stomach. "Momma?"

As Sue reached Mrs. Thomas's side, the latter took a deep breath, as though she had been holding it for several moments. Sue felt completely at a loss as to what was troubling her mother; that compiled atop all of the other emotions, worries, and excitement already raging within her felt nearly overwhelming.

"I was just thinking, dear," Mrs. Thomas smiled, reaching a hand to Sue's cheek and rubbing it with her thumb lovingly and the tears that Sue saw building up in her mother's eyes caused more in her own. "You're just...you're...just...my baby girl. I know that I was very hard on you...probably still am, sometimes, without really realizing it...but you've turned into so much more than I dare take credit for. You're a beautiful young woman, Susan...you're loving, and intelligent, and...you've kept the sensitivity that most people would have lost throughout a childhood like yours; but...you're still strong. Jack is a good man; I can tell from just the few times that we've met him...he was always the gentleman. He's very lucky to have you...and you're lucky to have him. I just...can't seem to face losing you."

For the first time in so very long, the tears falling down Sue's cheeks were not of pain, or sorrow, or anguish. For once, they were tears of happiness and something akin to nostalgia. The sheer and utter happiness that Sue felt at that very moment was exactly what she had suspected to have disappeared since the day at the Grape Vine Plantation.

"Mom," Sue said, unsure how her voice sounded through the tears, but signing along, anyways. "You're not losing me...you're...just gaining another son." Sue smiled at that thought, thinking of her three elder brothers that had already called her, one-by-one, to drill her for information on Jack, what kind of man he was, and if he treated her like a real lady. "Not that you really need another one...but another one, all the same."

Mrs. Thomas laughed at that, a tear escaping her, as well. "Well...let's just say...if Jack survives your brothers' visit next week, then he's definately the man that you were meant for and he was meant for you." Her mother grew quiet and thoughtful again, for a brief moment, before tapping Sue on the side and nodding towards her closet. "Let's get you dressed; you can't go out in a camisole and cycling shorts, now can you? I think that a nice dress would be perfect...it will make changing in and out of gowns easier and..."

"Mom," Sue smiled, taking the hanger of the dress that her mother had retrieved from the closet and hanging it back onto the bar. She closed the door back up and crossed to her dresser. "It's not quite warm enough for that."

"But, dear, jeans and a shirt is hardly something you wear to something like this," her mother argued lightly, the stubborness that Sue had inherited from her showing, but being matched by Sue's own.

"Nice jeans and a collared shirt will be fine," Sue smiled after watching her mother's speech; she turned to open a drawer and pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and slipped them on. "I'll wear my boots and everything will be ok. I'm not getting married, yet."

Mrs. Thomas looked as though she were about to drive her point home, but appeared distracted as she looked towards the door and Sue supposed that someone must be knocking.

"Come in, Daniel," Sue watched Mrs. Thomas call and the door opened out of the corner of her eye.

"Umm...Sue, sweetheart," her father said, stepping into the room and walking towards her. "Jack, Myles, Bobby, and Demetrius are here, and so are Lucy and Tara. We're going to go ahead and leave you lovely ladies to your business." He reached his arms around her shoulders and kissed her softly on top of the head, being careful not to mess the soft pulled-back waves of her hair. "I love you...have fun."

"We will, Dad," Sue smiled brightly and kissed her father's cheek.

Accepting the light blue collared shirt and black boots that her mother offered to her as a white flag of surrender, Sue left her parents to the tender looks and gentle grins that she knew would ensue. It was so strange to feel exactly as she always had as a teenager, in these moments, but, also, to now understand them.

_Hey, sweetheart, _Jack signed subtly when Sue reached him in the hallway as the others sat in the chairs and on the sofa behind them; Tara sat casually on the floor, Levi sprawled across her as she stroked him distractedly through their conversation. _You ladies have fun shopping for dress. Call if need anything. _Jack held up the phone that Sue's father had given him the night before as an early wedding present. It was very similar to hers, but allowed sound to come over the phone and it's major feature was to allow him to type in his reply with the small keyboard.

"We will," Sue answered, kissing him sweetly before they were joined by the others and her parents in the kitchen. "I guess it's time to part ways?" Sue addressed the rest of them.

"Oh, don't think that you two are getting off that easily, dear, sweet, Susan," Bobby said with a grin, but was quickly silenced by the serious look that her father tossed in his direction as Daniel Thomas hooked the leash onto Levi's collar and handed it to his waiting daughter.

Only Sue, her mother, Lucy, and Tara knew that her father was playing; however, they hid their smiles until the men departed, basking in the fact that Bobby was actually shut down with a mere look.

"Ready to go?" Lucy asked, regaining her composure after the fit of giggles caused by the look on Bobby's face.

"Let me just pull this on," Sue answered, handing the leash to her mother, who took it hesitantly before leaning down to scratch Levi's head with a grin.

"I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to get a picture of your father's 'look'," Tara began as Sue buttoned up her shirt and sat down on a table chair to pull on her boots, moving into the hallway backwards, maintaining eye contact, and grabbed Sue's black blazer jacket from te hooks by the door to hand to her. "We could hide in one of our desks and anytime that we need it...BOOM!...there it is. Immediate termination of male participation in conversations."

**Just a little filler chapter to help for fun. I went to write, and this is what came to me. Next chapter will be more interesting, promise! Please let me know what you think. **


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If someone told you any different, then they are LIARS! :) Please don't sue me...I poor.**

**Another thankful note of gratitude to Huck05, cheliosfan, Fanpire101, karyn, JaS2g, and GottaRun for your kind reviews, and to anyone who read and enjoyed.**

"So, how was your little trip, ladies?" Daniel Thomas asked, touching his daughter's shoulder for her attention as he, Jack, Demetrius, Bobby, and Myles entered Sue and Lucy's apartment and strode into the kitchen. "By the looks of it, you all seem rather satisfied. Wait...you've multiplied."

"Dad," Sue explained and signed with a laugh, pulling Amanda to stand in front of her and putting her hands on the young girl's shoulders, when her father caught sight of the half-sized stranger. "This is Amanda...she's a friend of ours and we picked her up to go on the shopping trip. She's staying the night, tonight, too."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Amanda," Daniel answered, ignoring Jack as he rounded him and subtly kissed his daughter's cheek; he heard the banter from the other men and young women erupting behind him.

_I deaf. Sorry, _Amanda signed, her eyes pulling together in confusion.

_Ok. I sorry. _Daniel signed back, his movements rather slow as he had been out of practice for quite a while. _I D-A-N-I-E-L T-H-O-M-A-S. Sue father. Nice meet you._

_You, too, Mr. T-H-O-M-A-S, _Amanda signed back, then turned to Sue and Jack, addressing the latter. _You no think you steal S-U-E, tonight. She stay here for girl night._

"Wow!" Bobby said and signed, coming to throw an arm around both Sue and Jack's shoulders with feigned seriousness. "You better believe that you saw that one, Sparky," Bobby finished, pointing at the deadly serious expression that Amanda gave Jack playfully. "I certainly wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of that...you know that Amanda means every word she ever signs...ever."

"Oh, Jack knows it," Myles quipped as he and Demetrius each took seats at the table with Tara, Lucy, and Carla Thomas. "Besides, I seem to recall a promise that Sir Sparky made to us...the game and pizza with wings?...I believe?"

"What do you know about pizza and chicken wings?" Lucy asked dryly, leaning her chin on her hand against the table with boredom written all over her face. "The last time that us women attended one of you guys' 'game nights', we all ate pizza and you came prepared with some hummus and raw veggies."

"I would argue," Tara said sprightly, her eyes customarily focussed on some point unbeknownst to the rest of the small group. "But it's true...you smelled like garlic everytime you spoke."

"It was home-made hummus," Myles defended, rolling his eyes and speaking aggitatedly with his hands before him on the table. "I use a little too much garlic one time, and I'm marked for life! Can't you all let it go?"

"No way, mate," Bobby answered, releasing Sue and Jack, the smiles and silent chuckles of Sue's mother and father only encouraging him on; he loved putting on a show for the new ones. "You've been on this team, for what?...seven years, now? Accept the fact that we allow nothing even remotely humorous or embarrassing go."

_You luck nickname 'G-A-R-L-I-C' no stick,_ Jack reasoned with a broad grin, leaning against the sink next to Sue as Amanda slid into the corner seat next to Carla. _'S-P-A-R-K-Y' still haunt me, but it grow on me. It ok._

"That is until the story behind it rears its ugly head," Sue amended, still signing for Amanda and nodding her head correctingly at him.

_That story for other time, _Jack answered quickly as Daniel's eyebrows rose in interest, reminding him incredibly of the way Sue's did every time something interested or surprised her; it was almost uncanny.

"What story?" Carla asked, politely asking Lucy to translate for Amanda for her. "I think that if you are to become a member of our family...there should be no great mysteries, don't you think, Susan?"

"I think so," Sue agreed, feeling a soft vibration against her thigh, and pulling her blackberry out of her jeans pocket. "Why don't one of you other gentlemen enlighten my parents? I'm being paged. Bobby...you usually like to tell this one; don't skip out on the wonderful details, either."

_Ok, _Jack signed in answer with a threatening look towards Bobby. _But then I tell 'C-R-A-S-H' story._

Bobby seemed to think very seriously about this ultimatum as Sue glanced between him and her blackberry as it vibrated again, trying to read him as well as recognize the incoming number.

"Yep, it's worth it," Bobby concluded with a devious smile and pulled up two seats from the wall towards the table, offering one to Daniel and taking the one closer to Carla, for the effect of his story on her ever-proper countenance. "Ok, so here's what happened when Jack and I first started at the F.B.I..."

* * *

><p>"Hello?" Sue asked into her small mouth peice, finally answering the call once she made it past the livingroom to her bedroom, uncertain if the others would be too loud for whoever was on the other side of the line.<p>

*Hello, Ms. Thomas,* flashed over her cellphone screen and Sue's eyebrows wrinkled in slight confusion as she sat on her bed, the setting sun outside her window her only source of light.

"Hi," Sue answered again. "Ummm...I'm sorry, but...who is this?"

*Mrs. Hudson, Ms. Thomas,* her screen read and Sue's confusion grew even deeper. *Surely you remember meeting our family in the hospital?*

"Yes, ma'am," Sue replied, feeling at an utter loss. Jack's mother seemed to hate her far beyond his father; why on earth was she calling her and how did she get her number? "Can I help you with something?"

*Actually, yes,* came the black and white reply. *I would be very grateful if you would meet me for a quick dinner, tonight. My husband and I are in D.C. for the weekend and I would like very much to speak with you on a more civilized basis.*

Sue's eyebrows rose, at that. Civilized? Sue knew that their previous encounters had been anything but, but she knew when offense was implied.

"I'm really very sorry," Sue answered, glancing through the crack left in her door to see Jack signing the story of Bobby's infamous nickname to her parents as Lucy seemed to be translating while Bobby's eyes remained adverted in shame and denial. "But I've actually already made plans tonight. I have company over and it would be rude to leave them."

*A mere hour, maybe two, is all I ask,* Mrs. Hudson's answer said and Sue let out a deep sigh, knowing that she should go for Jack's sake, if no one else's, but honestly wanting nothing less. *It seems that we are to become family, and would it not be a good thing to have on decent conversation or discussion, beforehand?*

Sue thought about this in silence for a moment, weighing the words that she saw on her screen carefully. She had not the faintest of ideas what would come of this, but how could she not do the right thing and give it a chance? After all, she had always been taught to always try and rebuild broken bridges if it were in her or anyone else's interest. Whether a bridge was formed, or completely stomped on and burned was unknown to her, but she had to see where everyone stood before they married. She needed that closure and wanted it for Jack, even more than for herself. He had been willing to give up a relationship with his parents that had always seemed so sound from his stories of home at Christmas and being born in Wisconsin to great parents. Some gap had formed between them, now, and the 'great parents' that Jack had always described seemed far less than that to her, and, it now seemed, to him, as well. She needed to know why, but shuddered at the realization that she was cause of the drastic turn-around of the parents that he had always seemed to so admire until the past few months.

"Ok," Sue answered finally, relenting all of her selfish desires to remain home, where she was happy and comfortable and accepted. "Where would you like to meet?"

**I have noted the fact that many people are wondering about Jack's parents and their behavior and I believe that I have some explaining to do. Please review to tell me what you think!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: It isn't mine, unfortunately. I just like to play with it and tweak it around a bit! :)**

**I think that my muse was kind enough to pay me little visit...he's been being neglectful lately, so this is good, yes? I hope that these chapters are good, they were kind of a last minute addition that I decided to make when I had planned to end this sooner.**

Sue took a clutched at Levi's leash, her teeth bothering her lower lip nervously as she released a deep sigh. Standing in the small alleyway between the little coffee shop and a business building, Sue leaned against the brick wall, fortifying herself for the encounter that she had been dreading for the past hour, since Mrs. Hudson had called her.

It had been very awkward, telling her mother, Lucy, Tara, and Amanda that she had to go out for a couple of hours, but the older women seemed more understanding when Sue told them the reason behind her temporary abondonment. It was more difficult to appease Amanda's not-so-well-hidden disappointment, but she finally smiled when Sue promised that she would return with rented movies for the night.

It had been quite a lucky break, she thought, that Jack, Bobby, Demetrius, and Myles had decided to depart very soon after her phone call, not wanting to miss the beginning of their game. Even more to her advantage, Jack had not asked who had called, as he customarily did out of innocent curiosity. She would tell him of their meeting, but she would do that later; she knew that she would not be able to stand any arguement he made, or the disapproval that she knew would be in his eyes and expression. She would tell him, but that had to wait until she knew what kind of discussion that would be, whether good or bad. She needed to get through it first.

"You'll keep me safe, right, Levi?" Sue asked the golden canine with a fond rub, looking down into his big brown as his chin rested against her left leg so that he could stare up at her; it was strange how she always seemed to gain some comfort from her first best friend's mere presence. "I thought so. Come on, buddy."

Rounding the corner of the small brick building, Sue looked briefly into the window of the same small shop that had held so many fun and pleasurable times when she and Jack had visited it. It had been the one place that they had went together that the rest of the team had never been to, even from the very beginning, as it happened to be directly in the middle she and Lucy's apartment and Jack's. His mother would have picked the place directly across from her hotel, the one place that Sue would rather keep a good place, rather than the place where she argued with Jack's mother.

Inhaling one more deep breath of cool air and exhaling it bracingly, Sue pulled the door open and followed Levi into the shop. The familiar aroma of coffee that she usually enjoyed took on a much more insidious effect. Why was this so threatening to her? They were just going to talk; if worse came to worst, she could stand up and walk out just as easily, or easier, as she walked in. She just wanted so badly for things not the be so very distant between them and Jack's parents, she wanted it for him, and a part of her wanted it for his brothers. Jack had told her that they were now having boughts of trouble with them, too, now. She did not want to be the cause of a family breaking up; Jack would always tell her that he was completely happy, but she knew better than that...she knew that he loved his family and would never be completely happy.

A stiff tap on her shoulder caused Sue to turn around quickly, having been startled from her ponderings. When she turned, she recognized the face of Mrs. Hudson and offered a small, if somewhat nervous and relunctant smile. Great. She had been standing in the middle of a coffee shop lost in thoughts and daydreams, probably looking quite rediculous, when she was aiming to prove this very woman otherwise.

"Hello, Mrs. Hudson," Sue greeted when her smile was not returned.

"Hello, Ms. Thomas," Mrs. Hudson replied, moving to return to her table just behind where Sue had been standing. "Forgive me for tapping you, but I had not the smallest clue of how to get your attention."

"That's alright," Sue answered, taking some offense, though after years of this from people, she knew that she should not. She basically had to strain to keep her relunctant companion's lips within her sight range. "You could have just waved, I was looking around."

"Well, you didn't seem to see me," Mrs. Hudson replied crisply, taking her seat. Sue followed suit, noticing the brief look that Mrs. Hudson cast around the room when Levi lay obediantly and well-behaved beneath the table at Sue's feet. "I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and ordered you a vanilla and hazelnut cappuccino. I assume that that is alright?"

"Yes, sure," Sue answered, wishing that she did not sound as flustered as she knew that she must. Her heart was racing in her chest as she lifted the paper insolated cup to her lips and forced herself not to cringe at the taste; she really did not like the bittersweetness of the beverage, but she could suffer it. "So...how have you and Mr. Hudson been? We haven't seen you since the hospital." Sue attempted to make polite small talk instead of sitting in this torturous silence.

Mrs. Hudson's eyes narrowed slightly, at this, obviously in deep thought. Sue held her gaze determinedly, though the force driving her to do so was much more out of wonderment of what was coming next, rather than actual challenge. After what seemed like several minutes, but was, in reality, only a few mere seconds, Mrs. Hudson looked away, as though reaching some sort of resolution.

"Let's not waste time, Ms. Thomas," Mrs. Hudson, lifting her own cup to her lips, cutting off Sue's vision at the last part of her name, leaving her to assume the rest. "You and I both know that we're here because there's something that we need to discuss...woman to woman, in private."

"And what's that?" Sue asked, accepting the immediate knowledge that this would not be a visit of amends or building bridges.

She could practically see, in her mind's eye, Mrs. Hudson pounding her feet over the remaining rubble of the bridge that once was as she poured gasoline all over it. Why had she even come? Why did she not listen to Lucy when she was told that this was a bad idea?

"Oh, don't be so naive, Susan," Mrs. Thomas answered in clear exasperation, laying her cloth napkin on the table before her forcefully. "Have you even really thought this through?"

Thought this through? How could she not have? Sue had obsessed over this decision for months...perhaps even longer, given their time dating. It was like grade school all over again within the course of just five minutes with Jack's mother. She was perfectly aware of what was going on about her, but now she had to prove that to this woman, who was determined to think the positive opposite.

"How do you think that the two of you will cope?" Mrs. Hudson asked, not giving Sue the time to form a worthy reply before carrying on in what Sue could see was a hushed tone. "You can't hear and Jack can't speak. I mean no offense, you cannot help your handicap, but how could you explain this to even yourself? This makes no sense to even try."

"And why is that you think that?" Sue asked, feeling her throat beginning to constrict tighter and tighter as the emotions grew inside of her. She took another quick sip and visibly wrinkled her nose at the taste, but needed some small distraction to keep her from crying. "Why is that you are so determined that Jack shouldn't marry me? _'No offense' _to you," Sue stressed the woman current flaw, her chest hurting with her anger and sadness. "But you do not even know me! You do not know who I am, what I am like, and what I am capable of. Yes...I'm deaf...but I'm not helpless...or stupid, or an idiot. Yes...my livelihood does depend on Levi, most of the time...but I'm not some worthless being that was set on this earth just to pity. I can talk, and I can see...I'm carrying on a conversation with you, right now."

"Besides that," Mrs. Hudson said in a whisper, pressing her point in anyway that she could, even if that meant moving on from her major weapon. "There are so many complications to consider. Jack cannot talk now; he can no longer get Levi's attention, for you. What if something were to happen to him and he could not get your attention, hmm?"

"Demetrius gave him a whistle that he keeps around his neck, at all times," Sue answered quickly, breathing back a small sob that was nagging at her as her tears begged for their release.

"And his job?" Mrs. Hudson pressed, finding yet another point that Sue had already pondered on, to herself, and had decided that it was not of so great a consequence to break things off.

"He does his job just as well as he always has," Sue answered, taking another sip of the bitter beverage to swallow back the pain in her throat. "He's been equipped with devices that help vocalize for him. He's been working for a few weeks now, and we haven't run into any major problems. Believe me, Mrs. Hudson, our team and supervisor would not give up on him so easily."

"And what about children?" Mrs. Hudson went on, ignoring Sue's explanation.

"What about children?" Sue asked, beginning to worry as she felt Levi paw at her boot and prop his head against her leg again, reaching down to pet him distractedly.

"You do want children, don't you?" Mrs. Hudson asked, sensing that she had hit a point yet to be thought of by Sue. "I know that Jack does...and always has."

Where was this going? Surely she did not think that disagreements on children would pose any problems; they both wanted children.

"Of course, I want children," Sue answered as Mrs. Hudson polished off the last of her own coffee. "We both do. We've already talked about that. Please, Mrs. Hudson, just..."

"Would you really bring any child into the world that you could not properly train and teach the way that they deserved to be?" Mrs. Hudson asked, cutting Sue off and taking completely off guard. "Forgive me, Susan, but even you must have realized the difficulties that would come from that. How would you teach them what children depend upon their parents to learn? Yes, Jack could teach them some things, like what noises mean what and how to react to noises. Yes, you could teach them what words mean and some few other things. But what about the rest?"

Sue's eyes seared with tears at the words she was seeing, but she had yet to let them fall. A depressing and sinking agonized pain tore at her inner chest and felt as though it would split her head in two. She had heard of heartbreak, but never had she imagined that it could be felt as physically as this.

"Susan," Mrs. Hudson continued gently, patting Sue's hand in an almost tender and motherly way; now that she had tamed her victim and gained control of the situation, she could afford to not be quite so ruthless. "How would they learn to speak properly? Children learn to speak at an early age from their parents; if they cannot speak properly by the time that they reached school-age...they would never be able to keep up. I know you and Jack would never want to hinder your childrens' potential and mental capacities...but there are some things that simply cannot be done by a deaf mother and a mute father...no matter how talented the mother may be with speaking. Think about that, dear. A marriage isn't just about you; it isn't about Jack...it would be rather selfish to punish an innocent child by bringing them into the world, destined to fail amongst his or her peers."

Finally finished, Mrs. Hudson pulled a ten dollar bill from her wallet, laid it on the table top beneath her empty cup, stood from her seat, and left the coffee shop without a single look back at the woman that she left in a distraught silence. Her work was finished. The seed was planted...now all that she had to do was wait for it to grow.

Watching her as she went, the tears finally escaped Sue's eyes and fell to darken the material of her shirt as she bowed her head, desperate not to draw attention to herself from the coffee shop's few other patrons. After several minutes of silent inner agony and feeling her soul being torn apart, piece by miserable piece, Sue stood from the table, gathered Levi's leash into her hand, and followed the same path that her attacker had taken out of the door into the darkness that overtook the city just after the sun fall.

She needed to talk to Jack. As much as she wanted children and pained to have them and make a family with Jack, his mother was right. She could not do that to a child. But never would she ask Jack to give that up; she wanted him to be happy and have a family to love and raise and cherish...even if it wasn't with her. The seed of doubt and sorrow and regret and pain had definately been planted down deep...and Sue could feel it growing. It made sense.

Walking slowly down the street that she knew, by heart, would lead her to Jack's apartment, where all of the men that she loved and thought of as family were, Sue felt as though she could die, then and there.

She would be lucky if this did not kill her, both body, as well as her soul.

**Please review. Feedback is always very helpful in determining how to continue.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I still do not own anything recognizable from the show.**

**One more thank you to Huck05, cheliosfan, and b1212 for your reviews, and to anyone else reading this story. :) **

**Ok, kind of a long one, again. But, then again, long for me usually isn't that long to others. :) So, please enjoy.**

"No! No! No!" Bobby suddenly errupted violently next to him, bringing his fist down aggravatedly against the couch arm and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Come on, Ref! That was a pathetic call!"

Jack laughed at Bobby's obvious displeasure before leaning forward and reaching for his drink. Taking a deep swallow of his soda, Jack heard Myles call his name from his place across the room, in the arm chair. Raising his eyebrows at Myles as a signal to go on with whatever he had to say, Jack could not help but notice how very out of place the man, still wearing a suit, seemed in a small apartment livingroom with three more casual guys and a bunch of junk food.

"I know that I usually don't partake in these kind of nightly male gatherings," Myles began, the sheer use of his words enough to make Jack, Bobby, and Demetrius look over to him with disbelieving faces. "However, I admit that this is rather fun. It's nice to just 'hang out' and 'watch the game'."

"Gee, don't cry on us, Myles, mate," Bobby said with a smile, turning back to the game.

Jack just shook his head in humor at Myles's oh-so-typical-of-Myles antics. _Thank you, sister M-Y-L-E-S, _Jack signed sarcastically, and Bobby translated for Myles, laughing. _There tissue in bathroom if you need it._

"I was merely stating that 'time with the guys' was much more fun than I usually think it is," Myles defended again at the onslaught, but catching the companionableness of the banter.

"Listen...Myles," Demetrius said slowly, as thought explaining something to a very small child. "There is only one person in this world allowed to talk like that...and that is my wife. I love her, so that's normal, for her, and, therefore, ok. You...you just pretend to know what's going on and remember what team that you say that you're siding with."

"Honestly, mate," Bobby went on, still watching the television, but nudging Jack in the side for his aggreement. "We once took Sue with us and Wes to a bar for some pool, and she never even said anything like that. Shoot...little sheila was actually some great fun, wasn't she, Sparky?"

"Wait, wasn't that the time that you told us about Sue beating you at pool?" Myles asked, thankful for the change of subject. "'Digging your ego into the ground' I believe was the terms used."

_No, no, _Jack corrected, hearing as Bobby spoke for him, but seemed to stop abruptly when he realized what Jack was about to reveal next. _I no lose to S-U-E. I no stupid. I on her team. B-O-B-B-Y and W-E-S lose._

"Did you just say that Bobby and Wes lost?" Demetrius asked, recognizing enough signs to figure it out after Bobby halted his helpful translations, hoping to evade the shame.

_Yes, _Jack answered with a grin, just as a knock sounded from the direction of the door.

Immediately, Jack stood up, curious as to who could be there; the pizza and chicken wing delivery had already been made. He could hear Demetrius and Myles giving Bobby their unrelenting shots at his masculine pride as he rounded the back of the sofa and reached the small alcove of a hallway that harbored the door.

Taking a quick and inquistive glance through the peep hole, Jack saw a familiar head of blonde hair and Levi sitting properly beside it.

_Hi, _Jack signed immediately, opening up the door for Sue, genuinely surprised by her sudden presence.

"Hi," Sue answered and Jack could immediately tell that something was the matter. "I'm sorry to interrupt your game night...I forgot."

_It ok, _Jack answered, seeing that her hazel eyes had been crying and growing concerned for her. _What wrong?_

"Umm...could I talk to you for a bit?" Sue asked, looking past him to where Bobby, Demetrius, and Myles all sat arguing over something that she did not bother to distinguish. "It's important."

_Yes, _Jack answered immediately, turning to grab his jacket and knocking on the wall loudly to gain the other men's attention. When they all looked up at him, Bobby waited to translate for him, noticing the change in his best friend's disposition. _S-U-E here. I go for minute. _

"Alright, mate," Bobby answered him, becoming curious, but brushing it aside to readdress later. It was none of his business, and the upset look that he saw on Sue's face had him determined to actually take that fact into consideration, for once, and not pry. "Hey, Sue, shiela."

"Hi, Bobby, Demetrius, Myles," Sue acknowledged, obviously trying to appear normal, but not fooling anyone.

"Hey, Sue," Demetrius nodded to her politely, being understanding without even knowing what of.

Myles merely acknowledged her with a small wave and grim smile, uncertain of what else to do.

_You ready to go?_ Jack asked, taking Sue's elbow tenderly.

Sue nodded slowly, her eyes locked on his, but the tears and obvious pain serving as an ominous foreshadowing to Jack. Something was very wrong, and he was almost afraid to find out what.

* * *

><p><em>You ok, S-U-E? <em>Jack asked, touching her arm for her attention; usually he would have just squeezed her hand warmly in his, but neither one had moved to take the other's, which only put Jack less at ease. _What wrong?_

"I need to talk to you, Jack," Sue answered and Jack could see the renewed tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

Of course, she wasn't alright. What kind of stupid question was that? However, as his mind raced, Jack failed to find where the night had seemed to go so very wrong for the woman at his side. He had seen her, not two hours ago, just as bright and cheerful as she had ever been.

"I met with your mother earlier," Sue informed him stiffly, avoiding eye contact. "She called me while we were all at our apartment...when I went to my room to answer the call...We met for coffee."

_When? _Jack almost demanded, knowing immediately that this was going to be worse than he had even thought. _Why you go?_

"Jack," Sue answered as they reached a bench on the darker, unlit side of the park, the luminescent full moon their only light to see each other's faces. "I wanted to go. I needed to talk to her, for everyone's sake."

_Who sake, S-U-E? _Jack asked again, growing rather aggitated; it was difficult enough to completely abandon his parents, but Sue was enough, to him, to do just that. _This no help anyone._

"Jack," Sue said shakily, feeling much like a child as she took his hand in both of hers, silently requesting that he sit down beside her. "Please...just listen, for a little while. Please...there's something that I have to say."

_Ok, _Jack surrendered, managing to maintain a calmness, though he was growing angrier and angrier at his mother, by the moment. Why would she do this? Hadn't she and his father already caused enough trouble?

"Jack," Sue began, not meeting Jack's eyes, but cradling his fingers in her own as he looked down on her worriedly and Levi settled closely at her feet on the ground. "I went because your mother said that we needed to talk. I...I was never satisfied with how things were left, at the hospital. I swear...I was just trying to make amends. I...I wanted things to be better for you." Sue took a deep breath before continueing; this had to be the hardest thing that she had ever done, but she needed to get it over with. The sooner that she let him go, the sooner that he could start to move on with his life and find what she wanted for him.

Hold on, Sue, she thought to herself. Just hold on...oh, God...this was going to hurt like hell. It already did.

"I...I can't do this, Jack," Sue managed to choke out, the pain reaping havoc on her inside and out getting the better of her as she began to sob. "I...I'm...so...sorry. I...love you...Jack. But...I just can't do this to you."

_Do what to me?_ Jack asked, her words feeling like a four ton weight being dropped on his chest and he knew that the pain he was feeling now would kill him, if prolonged. _S-U-E...please, no._

Sue put her fingers around his own and pull them down to her chest. God, she felt like she was going to die at any second. Gently lowering her head, she pressed her lips to his fingertips, if only for one last trace of him to remember. She could not withstand this much longer.

"Please, Jack," Sue said through her crying, struggling for every word. "Please...understand that...this is not...you're fault. I just...I just won't ask you to give it all up. You...you deserve to have a family...and be happy. I...I just can't give you...the family and happiness that you deserve. It will never work, Jack."

Jack clung to Sue's hand as she began to rise from her seat, unwilling to let her go.

_What no work? _Jack pleaded, holding her hand steadfastly in his. _Please, talk to me._

Sue finally seemed to break down, the walls that Jack could feel that she built up around herself shattering and melting to nothing. A heartwrenching sob escaped her and Sue finally could take no more. She could not take this pain; it was too much for her to bear alone. Jack's arms wrapped around her immediately, encasing her in a secure warmth that defied the cold night about them.

Lowering them both back towards the bench, Jack pulled Sue onto his lap and held her close to his chest. Her small slender arms wrapped around his waist, clinging to him, as though her life depended upon it, and Sue buried her face into Jack's chest. Every sob, and gasp, and cough that Sue could not help but to release against the folds of his jacket tore at Jack's emotions. What did she mean? Why was she doing this?

Taking Levi's leash off of her wrist and blindly fastening it around the arm of the bench, Jack allowed himself more freedom to pull her closer into him. Her form still felt as though it molded to his own, made to be there. Something that his mother had said or done had caused this. It enraged him to think about that, but right now Sue was hurting, and he needed to make it better.

_What cause this? _he fingerspelled, reaching a hand beneath her jacket and shirt to the warm flesh of her back beneath. _Please...you can no leave me._

"You...deserve...better," Sue sobbed even harder, choking on a cough, but tightening her arms around Jack and pressing her face to his neck, subconsciously aware of the wound that was still finishing its healing process. Her fingers touched it absently as her mind felt like it would implode with the thoughts running through it now, mixed dangerously with those returning horrors that she had felt in the hospital. "Jack...please...d...don't let me do this. I c...can't give you...what you need...what you want."

_I need you, _Jack replied after several moments of pondering this. God, he just couldn't lose her. _I want you. Please no leave me. Nothing else matter. I need only you. Please._

This seemed to assuage Sue's worries, for the time; at least, she grew silent and her body seemed to relax against him. Whether it was from being comforted or physically exhausted, it did not matter; what mattered was that Jack could now speak with her on a calmer level. He had to discover what had caused this, what his mother had said.

_Why? _Jack asked again, brushing his fingers against her warm back, but pulling her closer to him as he felt her shivering.

"Children," Sue answered, drawing a ragid breath as her warm fingertips roved gently over the large area that was beginning to scar on his neck, but growing calm enough to speak more clearly. "There are so many difficulties. I...I'm not...only saying this because...of your mother. It just...makes sense. How...how could we raise children and give them...everything that they need? How would we teach them to speak? There's so many things that we could not do for them."

This took Jack completely by surprise, the painful churning that it caused in his stomach terribly unpleasant. So this was the problem. His mother had stooped this low. Tenderly Jack turned his head towards hers enough to kiss her hair and reached a hand to her chin to make her face him.

Ever so softly, Jack edged forward warily and covered her lips with his own; when she reacted by moving her own with his, an incredible sense of easiness and relief came over him. He felt her fingertips glide upwards towards his jawbone and he moved his own to rest on the hollow point between her neck and her own jawbone, gently brushing her jaw and lips with his thumbs. When breath became a necessity, Jack unwillingly pulled his lips from hers, moving to rest them on the side of her face.

"Sue," he finally said, looking her in the eye, his lips moving but no sound escaping him. It was a painful reminder of what he had lost, but he knew that Sue worried about how he was coping, and he would put her at ease in every way that he could. "We can be good parents. I promise you...that...if you were to leave, I would not want to move on. Yes, I want a family...but I only want one with you. I can't have that with anyone else. I love you. We...could take them to a speech therapist, or something, like you went to as a child. It will be hard...very hard, and we'll probably think that we made a mistake, at some times...but we can do this. Please, Sue...don't let my parents ruin this. Their opinion isn't worth losing something so precious."

Sue's eyes showed all the surprise that she felt as they remained locked Jack's.

"Did you just speak?" Sue asked, looking between his eyes and lips.

"No," Jack answered, again moving his lips but uttering not a sound. "But I can still move them. It's ok, Sue...Please, don't worry about me anymore. I'm alright...and, now, we both need to move on."

"I love you, Jack," Sue said after several moments, wiping away the last of her remaining tears, but a soft smile gracing her face.

Jack leaned forward again and pressed his lips to her in a brief, yet intimate kiss.

"I love you, too, sweetheart," he mouthed, then pressed his lips to her temple.

Sue settled down against him, this time in a much more intimate companionable way. Resting her head back against his neck, she looked the large scar over again, lightly grazing over it with her fingers.

_It look bad? _Jack asked, moving his hand into Sue's line of vision and waving it for her attention before signing.

"No," Sue answered quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It's beautiful."

Jack felt her warm, moist breath again his neck, just before her soft lips pressed against the point that had been the center of so much pain. It was a wonderfully pleasant tingling sensation that erupted over him.

"So...what does your tuxedo look like?" Sue asked, desperate to change the subject after several long minutes of silence, however comfortable and close.

_No, no, _Jack signed teasingly, thankful for the changing direction to much happier areas of conversation. _If I no see you dress until wedding, you no see suit._

"Bully," Sue muttered playfully.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Again, I would like to thank Pattyfer78, SailorJP, Huck05, cheliosfan, JaS2g, em shorty, and Fanpire101, for your reviews and another thanks to anyone reading. :)**

**And now to address the differences between Jack and his parents that everyone seems to have brought up. I hope this little chapter suffices; if not...well, then, I did my best. :)**

"Hey, mate," Bobby answered. "Where did you two go? It's been almost two hours."

_**I took Sue home, **_Jack replied, typing his words into the keypad of his new blackberry. _**I'm sorry to bail out on you guys like that, but I still have somewhere to go.**_

"Where, mate?" Bobby asked curiously.

_**My parents' hotel room, **_Jack answered immediately. _**I might be a while.**_

"Mate," Bobby said, his tone understanding but surprised. "I didn't know that your folks were in town. I thought that they went back to Wisconsin."

_**They did, **_Jack answered, pulling the conversation to a close. _**I didn't know that they were back until Sue told me. I have to go, Bobby. I'll see you later. **_

"I'll be staying the night here, actually, thanks," Bobby answered, perfectly aware that Jack would not agree, but knowing that Jack would want to rant and rave to someone...call it his brotherly-intuition, perhaps. "Don't argue, mate."

_**Ok, **_Jack relented. _**Bye. Tell D. and Myles I said 'sorry'.**_

"No problem," Bobby said. "See ya when ya get done."

Jack pressed the call-end button on his phone and shoved it back into his pocket, quickening his walk back down the sidewalk towards the hotel that he knew they usually stayed in; it was the only one that they had ever stayed in.

Anger was not enough to describe what he was feeling at that moment. Fury seemed like only the tip of the iceburg. Outrage just did not seem to be an emotion strong enough. This, he could not describe. The blinding, burning rage in the whole of his body was beyond anything that he had ever felt before, even in his job.

His parents had always had very specific plans for his life; ok, he got that. He had, thus far, failed to settle for any of them, alright...he got that, too. But this? This was too far. Torturing the one woman that he had ever loved so completely to the point of wanting to marry with thoughts of disadvantaged children and pain and sorrow due to her deafness? That was a point so low that Jack had never dreamed even his parents would reach it.

He wanted to scream and shout every thought in his head at them. He wanted them to see what they had done. He wanted to make them see the pain, and anger, and torture that they had caused. Sue had very nearly left him, for goodness sake! By the mere grace of God, they had not been able to take that away from him. He did not know how he could have possibly lived with it and survived as a human being with a soul, should she had listen to his mother's manipulation and been swayed by the belief that she would be doing him any kind of good by deserting him. The hard pressure inside of his chest continued and expand until he wanted nothing more than to just completely blow up. He wanted them to see what they had almost done to him, and, more importantly, and innocent young woman that he loved more deeply than life itself.

Jack finally reached the corner where the large hotel towered over him and he looked up its daunting sides at the many lit windows. Just which one held the two people that he grew up loving so much, whom he now felt as though he could not hate with any a greater fervor. How could you love someone deep down, but completely and totally despise them in every thought and emotion and fiber of your being.

Moving on towards the glass revolving door, another thought dawned on his already chaotic mind. How could he tell them of any of this? He was physically incapable of making a single sound of his own. What was he to do, throw things and pitch a tantrum worthy of a five year old? His parents hardly listened to him when he spoke of anything that he thought, or wanted, or felt. How, on earth, could he expect them to listen to those same things when there was not a noise to be heard from him?

Jack stepped out of the way of an older couple when the man politely tapped him on the shoulder, half-heartedly returning the gracious grin that they both passed his way. Watching the spinning gold paint and glass of the door, his mind felt as though it was spinning at an even faster pace, but much less peacefully and fluidly.

He wanted nothing more than to make them see the error of their ways; to make them see that their meddling was not love, especially this time...it was sheer devastation on both their son and a young woman that was as close to Heaven as he had ever seen. He wanted them to see what Sue really was, not only to him, but to everyone that took the time to appreciate her; she was perfection, in every sense...she was, literally, the other piece of him that made him feel whole, that made him want to be better than he was, for her. He wanted them to see that Sue had no alterior motives; she only wanted to be accepted, and perhaps even loved, by the people that she would soon call her family.

Good Lord, how was he to do this? He felt so angery and desperate, at the same time, but could release none of this maddening tension; but he would not turn away without trying. So much needed to be said...or gotten across in anyway that he could find; he would do Sue the dishonor of not even trying. He would not do his parents the favor when they had done all in their power to drive away the most important thing in his world, the one person that he knew he could never survive without, and remain human...emotionally attached to the world around him.

Inhaling a deep breath of the cold March night air, Jack fell in step with one of the doors. He could hear the bustle of the other hotel dwellers and employees, but his footsteps seemed to drown them all out as he crossed the lobby, approaching the main desk, where a man, of about his own age, stood, typing into his computer.

"Yes, sir?" the other man asked, taking a small suggestive peep behind himself at a young lady employee that had messed his own dark hair when she passed. "Can I help you?"

_Yes, I..._Jack began, but suddenly recalled himself at the man's strange look. Holding up a finger, Jack reached for a pen that sat on the counter before him and dug around in his pocket, retrieving an old receipt from its depths. Turning it over he began to scrawl on it as the man and young female watched him, seeming thoroughly intrigued as they stared blatantly.

Handing the paper to the male concierge, Jack listened as he read the note aloud.

"'I would like to visit my parents,'" the man read, looking from the note, to Jack, to his little red-headed friend. "'The name should be under Hudson.'"

The man typed in the computer briefly, before looking back up at Jack. "Yes, sir, we have a couple under the name Hudson, however, I'm afraid that they requested that no visitors be allowed."

Rolling his eyes with great annoyance, Jack pulled his wallet and ID out of his pocket, as well. The eyes of both employees seemed to widen significantly at the F.B.I. badge, but Jack was still far too angry fromt the night's events to find any inward humor in it.

"Room 797," the lady replied, smiling slowly. "On the seventh floor...I can show you to the elevators, if you like."

Jack shook his head in the negative and strode off towards the elevators, a mere ten feet away, without another acknowledgement.

* * *

><p><em>Where movie?<em> Amanda asked, the moment that Sue turned away from locking the door behind her.

_In bag, _Sue answered with a small smile, handing her purse to Amanda, pleased to see the young girl's excitement as she unzipped it pulled out three DVD cases.

_'Ms. Congeniality'? _Amanda asked, but Tara snatched the plastic case out of her grip playfully, causing Amanda to chase after her.

"I love this movie!" Tara said and signed, turning around tauntingly as Amanda tried to trap her in the corner of the kitchen to reclaim her treasure. "It's funny! It's got some action!"

"Not to mention," Lucy intervened as she moved into the kitchen from the livingroom and snatched the movie from Tara's grasp to hand it back to Amanda as she signed. "It mixes F.B.I. with makeup, clothes, and girl stuff...I think we've been getting a bad wrap."

Sue watched the scene play out with a soft smile as she pulled off her coat and boots, leaving both in their appropriate places by the door.

"How did it go, Sue?" Carla asked softly, meeting her halfway down the hallway when she stepped out of Sue's room.

"It went alright," Sue answered truthfully, feeling Lucy's hands on her shoulder, but unwilling to share the full details of her and Jack's conversations. "Everything's alright...I promise," Sue continued at Lucy and her mother's wide-eyed looks of worry and seeing Tara watching her from the livingroom as she kept Amanda occupied.

The women seemed satisfied with this, despite the fact that the fading redness of her previous tears were still obvious in her eyes.

"Alright, then," Carla concluded, Lucy signing for her, determined to make this a good night. She moved into the livingroom, slapping Tara lightly on the shoulder at her place beside Amanda on the sofa. "No, no, Ms. Tara...I get to sit beside little Ms. Amanda...isn't that right, Amanda?"

_Right, _Amanda agreed, reading Lucy's translation of the older lady's words. She gave Tara a smug look as she reached politely for Mrs. Thomas's hand forced Tara to accept her replacement by her side.

"Treachery!" Tara demanded, signing with feigned outrage, her face the picture of complete and utter shock and betrayal. "I can't believe this!" She pointed blatantly at Sue's mother. "Or you, Amanda!"

Sue smiled a little wider when her mother actually smiled at Tara's rude finger in her face; somehow Sue knew that Tara was the only person naturally quirky enough to get away with this with her mother. Lucy took Sue's arm and pulled her towards the smaller loveseat, sitting them down, leaving Tara the lone arm chair.

After Tara stuck the DVD in the player and the beginning credits began to roll, Sue caught Tara watching her.

"Thank you," Sue mouthed to her, casting her gaze toward Amanda in explanation.

_You welcome, _Tara signed slyly, with a tight little smile and slight inclination of the head, her famous trade mark of acknowlegment.

Sue was truly, sincerely grateful that she had distracted Amanda for the initial questioning and adjusting to a much happier atmosphere. Everything was alright with her and Jack...just as great as they had been before, in fact. But she still did not want Amanda to see her upset; the girl was far too sensitive to others' pains.

Looking towards the young teenager, sitting happily against her mother, Sue was so happy that she had been able to come. Amanda was so much like a child to her, she was protective of her and loved her.

It was nice feeling...even that small sense of motherhood.

* * *

><p>The sound of his fist upon the thick wooden door reverberated down the long, uniformly designed hallway of the hotel floor. It was a maddening sound, only adding to the pounding that felt as though it was reverberating from every angle inside of him.<p>

"No interruptions, please!" he heard his father's voice call out, clearly annoyed.

Unable to offer any riposte, Jack continue to beat on the door stubbornly until it finally swung open, revealing a very angry Mr. Hudson, Sr. But Jack was angrier.

"Jack, what the hell do you think you're doing?" his father demanded, pulling the tie of his robe tighter. "Come, beating on doors at all hours of the night. We raised you better than this!"

Jack could nothing but scoff at him, the tightness that he felt in his jaw looking very much like a half smile, however deformed with his anger. Damn, this was the worst part of not being able to speak!

Feeling his arms beginning to shake with the extent of his rage, Jack strode past his father and into the livingroom of their rented room just as him mother appeared from the bedroom.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" she asked, shock evident in her face, but quickly turning to outrage at his demanding behavior.

Furiously pacing around the small room and it's few articles of furniture, Jack finally turned around and made the motion for a pen and paper with his fingers.

"What do you want?" his mother asked with a poor attempt at trying to seem as though she did not understand.

Growing even angrier, if it was possible, Jack looked around briefly. His eyes caught sight of a nearby night stand and he attacked the drawer, knowing that they usually held a notepad and pen, of some sort.

"Jack," his mother said, her voice almost soft enough to sound calming. "It's late...whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."

Jack shook his head furiously, jerking his shoulder from her grasp.

**You went too far!** he scribbled on the paper that he procured, shoving it in his mother's face for her observation. **How dare you do something like that? Are you human anymore, at all?**

"Jack...," she stammered, his father snatching the paper from her grip to read it, himself. "I was just..."

**You were just trying to do what you wanted to be done! **Jack wrote on a fresh sheet from the small advertisement pad. **You want so badly for us not to marry, and you were willing to nearly destroy the one thing that I love the most to see that we didn't! **

"Is the engagement off?" Mrs. Hudson asked, causing a visible rise in the redness of Jack's face; he knew that he would explode if he was not able to release any of this.

**No, it isn't off! **Jack started on a new slip. **And thank God! I don't understand this, Mom! Why are you so against this? What in the world could she have ever done to you to make you treat her like this?**

"Jack," his father took over when his mother stood soundless in shock. "You have to understand that we are only trying to do what is best for you. Out of all the plans that we have ever had for you...you haven't taken any of them. Allie would be good for you, Jack...she's a beautiful girl and she loves you. She's loves the whole family...she's a part of us."

**Loves the whole family? **Jack asked incredulously, his scrawl getting messier and messier. **Then why did she lie to you about us dating the entire time that I was in the hospital? I was engaged to Sue and she had you all pitted against her, making an already difficult time a living hell! Don't think that I haven't talked to Bobby about this. He told me how she never once left the hospital until they made her, and all of you were over a day late! **

"Jack," his father answered, his anger now beginning to reach the level of his youngest son's. "You have been nothing but a disappointment, ever since you graduated from high school! Where has all of your respect gone for your family? For the place where you came from and was born and raised in?"

**I'm sorry, Dad, **Jack retaliated, going through three sheets of paper. **I'm really sorry that I didn't listen to and do every little thing that you ever told me to, like Mason and James. I'm sorry that I didn't want any part of your small town monopoly of a business that cheats people on their automotive care because you three are the only mechanics in the town! I'm sorry that I went to law school and joined the F.B.I. and tried to make something of myself, and, goodness forbid, try to do anything that you might be proud of! But, I am NOT sorry for not marrying the woman that you want me to. You know why? Because Sue is worth more than what I will lose. I know that me marrying Allie was really the family's last hope of not having the 'prodical son' of the town and not being a center of gossip for years to come, but I really don't care. There's a reason that I left.**

"You selfish, ungrateful, child!" Mrs. Hudson finally shouted, her hand coming across his cheek when she read the last of his notes. "We were good parents to you! We loved you and took care of you! We gave you everything that we never got to have and tried to make something of your life!"

**Yes, **Jack answered after several moments of quiet, once he had calmed his anger enough to hold the pen in his hand correctly. **You did give all of us boys that. But you've gone too far. I've made a life for myself, one that I love and can be proud of. Now, I haven't met your standards as to how my life should have went and I know what the small town talk from Wisconsin says about me. I abandoned my family, I deserted Allie after years (who, by the way, left, too). I may not have been the best thing for your reputations, but I'm proud of what I do and what I've managed to become. And if you think that by meddling in my life, especially when it comes to Sue, that you're helping me, your both either insane or liars. You're trying to help yourself and find some small redemption for the 'family's' reputation. But I won't give up the one thing that I know I could never live without, now, to stop a few stupid rumors and jokes around the bar and cafe.**

Jack threw the last note towards them, beginning to turn back to take his leave.

"Jackson Samuel Hudson!" his father shouted loudly, halting Jack's movement, but he still felt his insides quivering with the passionate fury that was quickly overwhelming him. "If you walk out of that door, right now, you may consider yourself disowned! We took you to church! 'Children, respect your parents'," he quoted, finishing lamely, as he used the guilt trick that he had so often used through Jack's life, but successfully.

**You forgot one part, **Jack answered, gritting his teeth painfully as his muscles and joints began to scream from the prolonged tension. **'Parents, do not provoke your children to anger'. I think that what you two have done tonight more than suffices in that area. Anyways, while disownment in Cartersville, Wisconsin may be considered the ultimate shame, it's a lot different, here. In the seat of every major justice and political aspect of our country, doing what is right, despite the consequences, is nothing less than a great honor. I'll be damned if I don't marry Sue because you say so or disapprove. The only way that she is getting rid of me is if she orders me away and I know that it's what she truly wants.**

Jack tore the paper off and handed it to them, starting his final message as they read. **This is it, then, because this is the way that you insisted it be. I am no longer your son in anyway but biological, and in no one's eyes, but God's. As far as we, and anyone we meet, are concerned, I am not your son and Sue is not your daughter; we just happen to be another family of Hudsons within the same nation. I would not do Sue the insult of making her call herself related to the likes of what I see; I may have to live with it, but my wife and children never will. Go back home. Do not try and dissaude me, again. Do not contact us, our numbers will be changed. Do not come to our homes, or I will call the police. Leave us to live our life together and be happy. Do not try to meddle. Do not call me your son or our children your grandchildren; they will be raised better than that and taught the opposite. Go back to your home town that you care about more than your own flesh and blood.**

"It's your home town, too, son," Mrs. Hudson said, her last attempt to pull him back, but unwilling to admit that she was the cause of this loss.

_No it not, _Jack signed, knowing that they would not understand. But this was for his benefit, not theirs. _I no one son. I have no home town. S-U-E my home. My team my family._

**Ok, this one was pretty long and took a longer time than I had planned to write. I really hope that I did a sufficient job, but I'm very confident with this one. A bit worried. Please let me know what you think...constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcomes with open arms. Really...I am always open for help in bettering my work. I would love to know any and all opinions. Please and Thank you.**

**Also, really quick! I find that when I type or try to make amends in the writing quickly, I tend to make stupid grammatical errors, and such. I apologize for any of these! :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: Not it.**

**Another thanks to cheliosfan, Huck05, Fanpire101, and em shorty for your reviews. I'm so glad that you approved. And thanks, again, to those reading.**

**Ok...we still have a case on our hands that needs its conclusion. :) Moving on!**

"No, you should have seen it, Bobby!" Lucy exclaimed, leaning forward against the table for emphasis, a dreamy look crossing her face. "It was beautiful! It was long, with a trail, and lace, and a gorgeous, thick satin ribbon around the waist."

"Sorry, sheila," Bobby replied with a coughing laugh as he choked on his Coke. "I'm not one for much dress shopping...especially wedding dresses. I'm sure I'll see it at the wedding."

"No you won't," Lucy said almost savagely, sending a playfully scornful look down to the end of the long resturant table to Sue. "Sue didn't buy it!"

Sue mere smiled back at Lucy accusing stare and offered her a little wave to make up for it. Her other hand was secretly clasped in Jack's beneath the table cloth at their corner of the table, both resting peacefully on his upper leg.

"Well," Tara came to the rescue, draping an arm playfully on D.'s shoulder closest to her, pretending to whisper something conspiratorily, but for the whole table to hear. "I think that the dress she did pick out was perfect. Long, but not too long. Strapless, airy...perfect for a spring wedding...and, it will match the colors that we told you guys to get."

Demetrius merely leaned his head in towards Tara and nodded with narrowing eyes towards Lucy as the latter dropped her mouth as though thoroughly shocked, a half-smile joining him in the fun.

"Not really my vision of a perfect wedding," Myles interjected, leaning forward slightly to stick himself in the middle of the conversation that circled greatly around the only two of their party that was partaking in it. "No offense, to either our dear Sue or Jack...but the perfect wedding to me...would be in regular, nice, office attire, in a courtroom. Simple and quick...no fuss made of it."

"Oh, come on, Harvard," Bobby chided, tossing his napkin on his now empty plate that had once held his eggs and bacon. "After years of rediculous banter and managing to bounce out of each others' reach, don't you think that Sue deserves a fuss. I mean, be fair...she does have to spend the rest of her life with Sparky for this one night."

_Thank you, C-R-A-S-H, _Jack answered when he heard them with forced politeness and a slightly confused, but not so offended, expression as he looked up from his silent conversation with Sue at the opposite end of the table.

"It's ok, Jack. That's not true," Sue comforted, brushing some nonexistant object off of the shoulder of his suit. She continued when he passed a smug and cheeky grin back down the long table towards Bobby. "...We could always divorce."

The look that Jack shot at her was full of mock injury, but soon relented when she gave him a wry smile. Sue felt his fingers tighten around her own as he leaned forward and tried to slip her an unnoticed kiss while the others became occupied with their conversation and debate over the impending wedding.

"Oy! No public displays of affection! P.D.A., I remind you!" Bobby said loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth as D. threw his cloth napkin playfully at the back of Jack's head. "The Bureau has rules about this."

_We no at Bureau, _Jack reasoned, throwing the napkin back, but hitting Myles, before leaning back to finish their encounter with a quick, but soft, peck on Sue's cheek.

"Well...," Bobby stammered, his eyes roving around the table absently, unwilling to admit defeat, but finishing lamely as the others all laughed at him. "Then...I have rules about this."

"Oh, hush, Bobby," Lucy reprimanding, satisfactorily watching her best friend smile at her soon-to-be-husband with a tender look in her eyes and the smile gracing her lips. "After years of hard work to hint this to these two...just enjoy the product of our labors."

"Hey, what about me?" Tara demanded, throwing her own napkin down on the table with false anger, but looking up to thank the waiter as he refilled her coffee cup; she leaned down to hand Levi a strip of bacon at his place beneath the table before the waiter took her plate away.

"I believe that I partook in this little scam, myself," Myles added, holding his hand over his cup to signal to the young waiter that he did not want anymore.

Lucy and Bobby passed a glance between themselves, one of understanding and mock of the others. They had been the masterminds behind this, almost from the beginning...let the minor roles think what they want...they would recieve no credit.

"Umm," the young teenaged waiter began again, seeming a bit nervous to interrupt the boisterous group of adults. "I...have the ticket...whenever you would like it. Unless, it's...on seperate ones?"

"No," Sue answered, standing from her chair to snatch it kindly from the boys hand before Demetrius could get to it across the table. "It's my turn."

"Sue," Demetrius offered, still holding out his hand for her to relinguish the small strip of paper. "You two are planning a wedding and making all sorts of preparations...let me take it this time...or least we pay for our own."

"No, sir," Sue insisted, pulling her hand out of Jack's as she moved to stand. "My turn is my turn...you paid two weeks ago. It's fine...I'm happy to."

Jack release his grip as Sue stood and watched her move away from the table, towards the cashier's desk just a couple of yards away. After watching her for several seconds, his eyes began to drift away absently around the other morning patrons of the resturant. His gaze rested on no point in particular as he stared distractedly, the sound fading into the background as his mind wandered back to the fight with his parents and his brothers calling him to tell him that they had quit the family business and were moving to D.C. to be closer to he and Sue.

A tiny twitch of movement beside Jack's line of vision caught his eye, and he shifted his gaze reflexively to the small area beneath a distant table that had caught his attention. His focus returning to him, he stared harder at the metallic black object until he recognized it as a gun.

Slowly reaching for his own, he tried to discretely wave a hand to the others to catch their attention without drawing unwanted eyes to himself. However, they were lost to his motion as their jovial conversation continued. Moving his eyes from the gun, to the hand holding, up the hand to the arm, and from the arm up to the face, his heart seemed to still as he recognized the woman. Swiftly moving his scrutiny from her to the young man beside her back to her again, he followed her cold stare to the point at which she was staring.

He rapped his knuckles hard on the table again, but did not take the time to see if anyone noticed. Diana Grove was positioning the weapon more securely and surely in her grasp, aiming at her target, whom was conversing politely with the cashier. Jack watched in horror as her fingers began to tighten and slacken, ever so slightly, showing all the signs of pulling the trigger.

His head felt as though it completely burst as it shout 'No' at the top of it's lungs, but his subconscious told him that no one had heard his cry of warning.

Throwing the chair that Sue had just abandoned aside and out of his way, he leapt towards the cash stand as quickly as he was physically able just as the sound of the gun shot rang throughout the small resturant. Sue's small whimper of shock, and something else, rang in his ears menacingly as they both slammed against the ground and Jack immediately shoved her against the cash desk, covering every inch of her that he was physically able, her small gasps and whimpers tearing at his nerves as her hands began to grab at his shirt and jacket, trying to pull him closer to her.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the show. **

**Another big big thanks to cheliosfan, Fanpire101, Huck05, Gremlinpugs, JaS2g x2, Karyn, and Pattyfer78 for your reviews; they were really really kind and definately made my little muse come out to play. Also, thanks to anyone else who is reading this, as always.**

Sue closed her eyes tightly against the burning pain, setting the whole left side of her mid torso ablaze. Her hands clenched fastly on Jack's clothing as she struggled desperately to bring him closer to her and out of harm's way, fighting instinctively to cover his head, but she could not seem to move from the pain flooding through her muscles.

"Jack," she finally begged, molding the ragid gasps that she felt tearing through her esophagus into words, as best as she could manage. "Jack...no!...Please...move."

Warm hands covered her face, brushing over her eyes, then nose, then lips. Gentle lips were pressed to her forehead as she felt herself beginning to writhe uncontrollably, whether from the pain or the sudden feverish cold that invaded her body, she did not know.

It was not for what seemed like several minutes that she was able to open her eyes to focus, even remotely, on what was playing out before her. Just beyond the blurry figure in front of her, she could see a very fuzzy Bobby forcing a blonde woman to the ground as D. quickly and skillfully threw a young man to the ground with the swing of one arm and Tara and Myles came immediately to apply the handcuffs. Multitudes of other strangers were screaming and hiding beneath tables. God, she hated deja vu...but this time around was so much more difficult to seem

_S-U-E! _

Through her haze of pain, light-headedness, and unclear wonder, Sue finally began to recognize the movements inside of her palm. A large hand was forcing her own to remain enclosed over another large one, but know she was vaguely becoming aware of what their meanings were. Pulling her gaze to focus solely on the dark headed man mere centimeters away from her, Sue recognized Jack and some rational thoughts struggled to come to the fore of her mind.

"Jack," she gasped again, but this time not in dire need for him to be safe...this time it was in pain.

Her vision was going from blurry, to gray, and was slowly fading to black. Despite the pain that was inflicting sheer turmoil upon her body, it seemed to fade to the background as she felt her mind going. She was afraid...she needed Jack to help her.

_"Dear, God," _she prayed with the last vestiges of what resembled even the slightest of reasonable thought. _"Please...not like this. Let me say goodbye to them...let me say goodbye to Jack. Please. Amen."_

* * *

><p>"How is she doing?" D. asked hurriedly, dashing to where Jack now kneeled beside Sue and falling to his knees to assess her condition for himself.<p>

Jack pointed to the blood that was beginning to puddle beneath her unconscious body and soak into the cloth of his own pants and sleeves as he moved to straighten her small frame into a more natural position, rather than cramped up against the small corner made by the floor and large desk behind her. He saw Demetrius's hand fly to her face and neck, feeling her temperature.

"She's losing blood, her temperature's dropping," D. said expertly, then threw over his shoulder, "Someone call an ambulance!"

Jack reached to the neck of her white collared shirt, taking a harsh grip before tearing it clear in half, from the buttoned front to her back. Ripping the left side of the tattered garment off of her, Jack hoisted up the side of her undershirt and pulled it off of her shoulder and arm, revealing the large source of her profuse bleeding, just at her upper waist.

Pulling off his jacket, Jack quickly tore off a sleeve and folded it over several time, then pressed it firmly to her side, trying to staunch the bloodflow with pressure.

"Ambulances are on their way...so is Metro P.D.," Myles called from some point behind him, but Jack hardly took his words into consideration.

"Jack...move over!" another voice demanded, a hand on his shoulder to try and shift him out of the way.

His mind and thought processes felt as though they were completely seperate from his body; his mind told him to move over and told him that he should trust the voice that he vaguely recognized, but the reactions of his body held him fastidiously in his place, applying pressure.

"Jack, move!" D. commanded him, grabbing his arms and pulling him aside. "Amelia knows what to do...she'll take care of her!"

It took a moment for the words to register with him, and even longer for them to connect and make sense with the picture he saw before him. The familiar and wonderful face of Amelia was bent over Sue, working at the sight of the wound as much as her nurses' knowledge allowed her.

Thank you, God. Amelia was somehow, against all odds, here, and helping. Thank God...Amelia was here.

Jack could hear the loud sirens from some distance, but his mind was still on Sue.

_What? _Jack managed to sign, catching Amelia's attention for the briefest of seconds.

"Hold this here," Amelia instructed professionally; though skilled and precise, her hands were shaking in her movements to try and save the young woman that she had grown to love.

She had watched for days as Sue had almost lost Jack, and then for weeks, afterwords, as Sue helped Jack to mend. She would be damned before she watched Jack lose Sue.

**Just a quickie, but I'm still working on it. Also, I know that it may seem far-fetched that Amelia be there, but they do live in the same city and coincidences do happen. Besides...I'm kind of fond of Amelia. Please let me know what you think! Please? :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**I'm trying to be quick with my updates, so, perhaps, they can be read within the course of the night or just together in the morning, depending on everyone's varying sleeping habits and timezones, if that be the case. I'm still very grateful to everyone reading this! :)**

**Warning: A bit graphic on the details of the injury, but I tried to keep it toned down. Perhaps it just the nursing classes coming out in me, but I'm trying to be specific for understanding's sake. Technical details may be a little off, but I'm trying to be as realistic as I possibly can.**

"Amelia!" Myles called out, spotting her when Jack insistantly punched at his shoulder for his attention and pointed her out among the nurses, CNAs, and doctors at the nursing station.

Jack watched as she turned around to find the source of her bellowed name and nodded at them briefly, before turning back to finish her conversation with her CNA. When the young lady scurried off on some assigned mission, or another, Amelia directed her footsteps towards them.

_What? _Jack asked her, for what seemed the millionth time since she had joined him in the ambulance with Sue; but it was all that he could ask her, the only sign that he knew that she recognized.

"She came out of emergency surgery about an hour ago, she's in a regular recovery room," Amelia breathed heavily, tiredness written all over her face and her every-day attire smudged and tarnished from thier sudden use as scrubs. "She's asleep, right now. The doctor isn't allowing any visitors, for at least another hour, in case they need to go back in suddenly."

"Please," Carla begged, using her husband's supporting arm to help her stand and coming to grasp Amelia's arm. "Please...what happened?"

Jack's heart went out to Sue's parents as he watched Daniel rest his hands bracingly on Carla's shoulders as she cried, his own face shallow and pale with his own terrible fears. They had been on their way to the airport when Lucy had called them, preparing to leave for the few weeks until the wedding. They had been nothing but devastated, since. He wanted so badly to help them...to find comfort in them, while comforting them, as well, but he just didn't know how. His mind was still to muddled and his thoughts too full of grief...he just could not lose her.

"The shot skimmed her, but a little deeper and unfortunately placed, than we would have liked," Amelia answered, squeezing the hand of the woman not much older or younger than herself. Her eyes met all of those in the crowd, but landed on Jack's, her gaze soft and understanding, but soulful and compassionate. "It went completely through from the start...we found both an entry and exit wound...which is good, because the foreign metal could cause no major damage to her system by being lodged. However, it was a heavy enough calliber of a bullet to leave a large gash of her side...I'm afraid...the skin was completely removed by the force of it and the profuse bleeding was caused by minor tears to the outer walls of the large intestine. No detrimental effects, but enough to set us all into a bit of a frenzy. The doctor has everything sutured and stitched up, but now...all we can do is sit back and wait to see how things take."

"Thank you," Demetrius answered, pulling Lucy to his side protectively as she began to cry again at the thought of her best friend's condition.

"You're welcome," Jack heard Amelia reply, absently watching as Bobby held Tara securely in his arms, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head buried into his lower shoulder. "But...there's just one thing, else."

"What's that?" Daniel Thomas asked, his own voice thick, but his face strongly composed.

"Sue hasn't any forwarded instructions or requests in her files," Amelia began slowly, relunctant to broach such a subject at this horrible time, but pulling the file in her hand open. "We need to know what to do if any other emergencies arise, but only her appointed medical dicision maker can decide that."

"Well, we're her parents," Carla said tearfully, naturally assuming that she would have made them responsible for her medical decisions when she was unable to make them. "Do anything you have to to save her."

Amelia figited anxiously with the corner of the manila file before continueing. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas...but...you aren't the ones that Sue appointed. She...appoint Jackson Samuel Hudson her legal voice, in these matters. She had it legally changed with us a few years ago."

"What?" Carla asked, seeming more confused that offended as she looked at Jack, who was equally confused.

"Yes," Lucy suddenly said, pulling herself away from D.'s fatherly embrace. "Sue...Sue told me that she had...I just remembered, Jack. Carla...Daniel...she only chose Jack because he was her training agent...and was always close...so, if anything ever happened, it would be someone that she trusted, but was close...She chose Jack because she knew that he would always be on hand, if it was necessary."

Jack let this sink in; it was insignificant in comparison to everything else that was going on, but it compiled on his mind, along with all of his other demanding thoughts and emotions, and felt as though it would be the penny that tipped the scales.

Daniel and Carla turned to him, both their faces desperate and pleading as he met their eyes directly. Jack pulled out his pocket pen and notepad, the corner stained in Sue's blood.

**You do everything you can possibly do to save her, if it's necessary, **he wrote, tearing it out and handing to Amelia with his signature at the bottom. **Sue's not going to leave us like this, not noted as murdered. Do your best to save her, no matter what. Jackson Samuel Hudson.**

Securing the paper in Amelia's hand, Jack immediately strode out of the waiting room and across the hall to the mens' room. He knew that he was about to get sick...he always did when he was so thoroughly worried and upset like this.

* * *

><p>"Jack?"<p>

Jack coughed again, just as he heard his name resound through the empty restroom. Pulling out a handkerchief, he wiped at his mouth and reached up to flush the toilet for what felt like the dozenth time. Leaning back from the balls of his feet to sit on his rump on the cold floor, he rested his head back against the cool tiled wall of the restroom stall.

"Jack?" the familiar voice asked again, but this time, from a much closer proximity.

Jack reached over weakly and rapped his fingers on the door of the stall, signalling his visitor that he could come in. The slowly opened, soon after.

"Are you alright, Jack?" Daniel asked him, crouching down at his side and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Jack nodded his head, in answer, but the motion threw his pounding head into even greater devastation and he could feel his mouth and throat beginning to water again. _How C-A-R-L-A? _he signed, opening his eyes to meet the older man's next to him. _Doctor say anything?_

"Carla's better, now, I left her with Lucy and Tara," Daniel answered, lowering himself down, as well, to match Jack's sitting and leaning position on the opposite side of the stall. "Amelia came back about thirty minutes ago and said that the doctor agreed to let us go in at the end of the hour...Sue's coming back around. Everything's been fine, so far, and all of her vitals and reflexes still seem to be in order."

_Thank God, _Jack replied, closing his eyes, feeling a great weight being lifted from his shoulders.

"You got that right," Daniel said with a grudging smile, looking down at his hands, propped on his knees as his fingers fumbled around anxiously.

He was silent for several minutes, in which Jack became sick, again, and apologized when Daniel retrieved him a handful of dampened paper towels from the sinks and his own half-consumed bottle of water. Accepting them both thankfully, Jack cleaned his face as best as he could and then his mouth with the clean water, spitting it back into the toilet.

_Thank you, _he signed, leaning back into his place against the wall, the cool tile feeling pleasant against his clammy and sticky flesh as he wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead and face.

"Can I say something?" Daniel asked, his eyes trained seriously on Jack's once his requesting words had sunk in and Jack met his eyes with just as much focus. He did not wait for a reply, but carried on with more serious and utterly honest a tone as he had ever heard from Sue's father. "As a father...I was naturally very skeptical of the man that suddenly wanted to marry my sweet little innocent daughter after years of working together. I always try to be fair and never judge before I am given reason to, but...hey...I'm a father...and Sue was my little girl. My only girl...it's not as easy to raise her as it was the boys...she always has me worried, just by being out of my arms' length."

Jack straightened his stature slightly, uncertain of where this was going, but trying to force his head to concentrate, despite everything.

"I don't mean to insult you, or anything, I swear," Daniel went on, holding up his hand truthfully. "I'm just trying to explain to you what I've been thinking ever since we came here last week to visit our daughter and her fiance. I...just wanted to let you know that, from what I've seen from you so far...especially today..., I can't wait to call you my son, Jack...You really love my daughter, don't you?"

Jack was not sure what exactly the effect was that his words were having on him, but they were definately effecting him. He had not really even realized that he was worried about what Sue's father thought of him until he felt the great sense of relief, right at that moment. Why could his parents not give this to Sue? Sue deserved it so much more than he did. He wanted this happiness for her, so badly.

_I no able say how much I love S-U-E, _Jack finally answered, after a moment of contemplation. His hands moved of their own accord before him, forming no signs, but searching for a way to describe what his insides felt for Sue; but it was impossible...he just could not explain something so infinate.

"Don't worry," Daniel assuaged his overworking thoughts with a wave of his hand, leaning back comfortably into their easy silence. "I know...I'm married, too, remember."

"Jack! Mr. Thomas!" Myles's voice suddenly called from the doorway beyond the other stalls. "Sue's awake! Amelia wants the two of you and Mrs. Thomas to go and see her first."

Despite the nausea still swirling dizzily in his stomach, Jack and Daniel Thomas were on their feet and out of the restroom door in a split second.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the show.**

**Another thanks to cheliosfan, Huck05 x2, and em shorty for your reviews. And, thanks, as always, to any other readers.**

**Just so you know, this chapter starts with a jump ahead two days.**

_No play with it, L-U-C-Y, _Jack reprimanded, swatting her hand away from the dressings and gauze at Sue's side.

"It's loose," Lucy argued, swatting him back.

_You no fix, _Jack pressed on, gently arranging the hospital gown around Sue's middle section to cover her properly. _Nurse fix._

"It's ok, Jack," Sue said quietly, her smile weak, but humored by their childish and overly worried fussing.

Sue pulled her hand closer to Jack's and felt him react to the movement by enveloping her fingers with his, interlacing them as he slowly and cautiously took a seat on the edge of her mattress. It had been two days since the confrontation at their favorite weekly team breakfast haunt, and Sue was on the mend, but Jack still seemed to be convinced that she could shatter like glass at any moment.

"Did Mom and Dad leave this morning?" Sue asked, changing to subject to other grounds, now that her body was finally becoming accustomed to having to focus, despite the pain medications.

"Yes, Bobby's at the airport with them, right now," Lucy answered, plopping down on the uncomfortably firm sofa in between Tara and Levi, who had claimed a cushion to himself. "They kissed you goodbye, but you were still asleep and they wanted you to rest; they asked us to tell you that they would call your blackberry when they land in Ohio."

Sue nodded, her brows furrowing again at more questions arising in her head, finally becoming clear. The initial pains and side effects of the medication was beginning to wear off and rationality was returning to her.

"Are D. and Myles at work?" Sue asked, looking between Jack, Lucy, and Tara.

"Yes...we took off for a prolonged lunch break, today," Tara answered, leaning her head sideways onto the back of the couch and pulling knees up to her chest and encircling her arms around them. "They're doing interrogations, so by the time that we get back, they should be done."

"Are they interrogating Diana Grove and Gabriel Berrinili?" Sue continued, wanting to catch up on everything that was going on, hating to be an invalid.

Lucy began to say nod her head and answer in the affirmative, but Jack gently intervened. _You rest, _he instructed kindly, reaching forward to help straighten her up, a bit, to lean more comfortably into the pillows. _No worry that now. Later._

"Well, I want to know what's going on, too," Sue insisted, closing her eyes briefly as a small, but sharp pain, shot through her left side as she moved. "I won't take forever to heal, you know."

_Wound large than you think, _Jack warned, raising at eyebrow at her.

"Oh, I've seen it." Sue brushed his words aside with a wave of her hand. "It's three inches, if that...a superficial injury, to exaggerate."

Jack rolled his eyes as the women began to giggle to themselves on the couch, humored by Sue's determination. _Then why surgery? _Jack pressed, cocking a brow, again, imperiously.

"Stitches," Sue answered, her face full of insistance that she was correct. "Small children fall and get stitches...I was just bleeding a lot and that's why you all started to freak out on me." Sue emphasized her meaning by making a funny face of mock hysterics at the last part.

"Sue," Tara smiled, for once, aiding Jack; but Sue needed to realize how close she had really been. "You did lose a lot of blood...it was pretty close to being destructive. It did tear your large intestine...just think about where you would be right now if it was just a millimeter more to the right. You certainly wouldn't be in the mood for taunting Jack, right now."

"She is absolutely right," Amelia concurred, entering the room suddenly, back in the normal uniform scrubs that they were accustomed to seeing her in. "Don't take for granted the fact that God gave Jack the ability to get you out of the way in just the knick of time...how else do you think that Jack would have happened to notice something so well hidden?"

Sue caught her lower lip with her teeth and looked down in surrender, properly reproached. Pulling her hand out of Jack's, she rested it on his thigh to form her fingers to sign _I love you. _

Jack's expression seemed to say 'uh huh', as his eyebrow rose higher and he pursed his mouth at her playfully. But he soon softened his sarcasm with a quick kiss, before standing from his position on the bed.

Sue could see that he was putting on a face and joking, for her benefit; he was trying to hide it, but she knew that he was still worried, deep down. He didn't smile as much when he was trying to hide his actual emotions from her.

"Ughhh...it is that time, isn't it?" Lucy groaned, looking at the clock. She, too, stood up. "It's time for us to get back to the bullpen, Sue."

"Nooo...," Tara gave an agonized moan, laying over into Lucy's deserted cushion and laying her head on Levi's side, stroking his head fondly. "You can't make me go back...the computers are taking over my mind..."

_Get up, _Jack insisted, grabbing a wrist and pulling her up quickly enough that she had to stumble around to regain her balance, once on her feet.

"Hey!" Tara exclaimed, straightening her blazer and collared shirt. "No man-handling the little ones, you big bully."

_She all you, _Jack signed, saluting his regards to Amelia as he steered Tara towards the door by the shoulder. _Take care her._

Amelia smiled her agreement after Sue quickly translated, pulling out her medical scissors and the plastic container of sterilized dressing supplies from her deep pockets.

"Got it," she smiled, turning back towards Sue, in the bed. "You three go save the day...I've got her well under control."

Sue returned the soft smile that Jack passed her just before closing the door, then turned back to watch Amelia unwrap the plastic coverings to her supplies.

"Can I ask you something, Amelia?" she requested, obediantly turning on her right side when Amelia waved her hand in indication.

Amelia's hand reached over her and into her line of vision to ball up in a fist and move up and down in the sign for _yes. _

"We're supposed to be getting married in a little less than three weeks," Sue began, releasing one of her greatest fears to one of the only people that could give her the answer that she really desired to have. "Do you think that we'll have to postpone it?...the wedding, I mean?"

Amelia moved into Sue's line of vision a few short moments later to finish snipping the large bandage down to size from the right side, where she could better reach. Lightly dabbing at Sue's closed and stitched wound with a cotton pad saturated with alcohol and then one with a thick healing agent before closing the bandage over her skin securely, Amelia pulled off her latex glove and rubbed Sue's arm comfortingly.

"I don't see that becoming necessary," Amelia answered, throwing away the remaining left-over supplies. "The wound may still be a little sore, or something, at the wedding...you may even need to wear a bandage beneath your gown. But just keep coming in, like you should, once you are released tomorrow...we'll be able to make certain everything is healing right."

Sue nodded with a satisfied and relieved smile, closing her eyes slightly as tiredness began to take her again.

"Hey," Amelia continued gently, once she had Sue's attention, again, from the tap on her shoulder. "You really were lucky...and your friends and Jack, and your parents are worried about you. Don't brush it off and think that you can jump right back in at work as soon as you're released...go to work, but glue yourself to the desk."

Sue smiled at that, leaning back slowly as Amelia aided her in arranging her position back to her back and leaned up the head of the bed for her.

"And, if I hear that you don't," Amelia went on with a wry smile. "I'll call up your team and make them do it. Perhaps, that Manning, one, I'm certain that he would do it."

"Please, don't," Sue begged, pulling a hand to her forehead in feigned distress. "He'll take you literally...he's been waiting for a reason to glue me to my desk ever since I got there."

Amelia laughed shallowly, grabbing her things and heading back to the door, leaving Sue to rest up for her physical assessment later on.

* * *

><p>"What did they say?" Jack asked, striding into the bullpen after Lucy and Tara.<p>

"A lot," Demetrius answered, dropping the files that he had been using during his interrogation onto Jack's desk. "I was actually kind of hoping that they would be harder to crack."

"What happened?" Tara prodded curiously, catching wind of the conversation and her interest peaking.

"Diana Grove was proud of the whole sick affair," Myles answered, storming through the room angrily. "She said that it was only fair that she take away Jack's soon-to-be-wife, since he took away her husband...she said that the death occurring in a resturant fit the scene perfectly to her loss of her husband, and that she wanted Jack to feel the same way that she had."

"What a...," Lucy began furiously, but Tara immediately reached up a hand and covered her mouth, muffling the rest of her statement.

"And little Gabriel sang like a canary," Demetrius finished, obviously the most calm of him and Myles, despite the effects of the interviews.

"Does she know that Sue is alright?" Jack asked, wanting to know every detail, since he had not been allowed to be anywhere near the interrogation rooms during their interviews.

Myles smiled almost evilly, at that. "That was the only good part...you should have seen her face when I told her that Sue was ok and that she would be out of the hospital in just a day or two, while she would be in prison for the rest of her life for attempted murder, among other charges, and her son would be given, at least ten years, by law, for being an conscious accessory to every crime that we have on that family. It was priceless."

"Almost made the whole three hours worth while," Demetrius agreed, a happy smile coming over his own face as he turned to refill his coffee cup.

**I really hope I got my point across in respects to Sue's physical state without confusing anyone. Sorry if I did! I tried my best.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I own nothing...otherwise, paying for college for the next six or so years would be no problem at all. lol :)**

**Another big thank you Huck05, JaS2g, Gremlinpugs, and Pattyfer78; the reviews left most recently were exceedingly kind and more than greatly encouraging. Also, thank you to any other readers.**

**Alrighty, another one of my obnoxiously long authors' notes: I had not exactly intended to write an actual wedding scene. I'm not good at them, but I'll give it a go, since some seem to be expecting or wanting one. But remember...you were warned. **

**This may take a chapter or two...maybe three. It just depends on how truly desperate these chapters are. lol :)**

_Finally, _Sue thought with a sigh of relief as the door closed behind Lucy.

She was not ungrateful for the aid from her mother, Lucy, Tara, and even Amelia; she could not express how thankful she was for their help. However, she needed just these few moments. After having been hectically rushed through her short morning after the long previous night of their rehearsal dinner and nearly dizzy from the speed with which the hours between then and now seemed to pass, Sue needed these moments of quiet. She needed these moments of peace to gather herself and her thoughts.

Sue grinned lightly as she pulled at her skirt, wondering why Tara had made such a fuss of arranging it if she would not be standing still in this one spot throughout the wedding.

_"You can't press a button and expect it to lay perfectly," Sue had reasoned with a laugh, not five minutes before,_ _as she watched Tara examining her dress from several angles._

_"I'm determined that I can," Tara had countered then, her over-analyzing eyes never leaving their task, but a grin crossing her face. "I just need to find that button...usually they're big and red...those are always the right ones to push," Tara had joked, effectively calming the atmosphere of Sue's figiting mother and Lucy's obsessive applications of makeup here and a hairpin there when she caused them all to laugh._

_"There," Amelia had exclaimed, letting the left side of Sue's dress fall into place and crumpling up the packaging of her sterile bandaging supplies. "Nothing is getting past that barrier, my friend."_

_"Except maybe one person," Lucy had smiled sneakily, earning herself a wide-eyed expression of repremand from her best friend._

_"Lucy!" Sue had admonished her, turning to throw her a look that demanded that she shut her mouth, then and there._

Sue laughed softly as she ran over the conversation of the past ten or so minutes. She really found all of their fretting and fussing rather endearing, but Sue was never one to want to be made a specticle of. She felt as though she was quite lucky to have convinced her mother and Lucy that the wedding should be small and quaint, and that was probably only achieved by the fact that she and Jack had immediately booked the small church upon seeing it, determined not to let that aspect get out of hand.

Sue reached a hand to her hair that fell down in loose curls over her shoulders, twisting one absently with a finger as she looked back into the mirror distractedly, her other arm holding herself around the waist. There was still a slight pain in her left side as she gently cradled it with her right hand, but it was easy enough to ignore.

She was happy, Sue finally acknowledged, looking her reflection squarely in the eye. After so many worries and doubts caused by the efforts of Jack's parents, namely his mother, she was ultimately perfectly happy. Of course, she would have preferred it to be different in that area. She did not want Jack to lose the part of his family that she knew he still loved deeply, despite everything, simply because they were his family. She did not wish to see him sacrifice his relationship with his parents for her...but he had left her in no doubt of his preferance to do so.

A movement in the mirror behind her own reflection caught Sue's eye and ended her thoughts immediately as she turned to greet her visitor.

"Jack," Sue said slowly, turning around to face him and joining her hands together behind her back. "You know that it's bad luck to see the bride in her gown before the wedding," Sue warned him, but her face held no real reproach, but a soft smile that told Jack that she was pleased that he had come.

Jack raised a single finger to his lip as he moved towards her, looking over his shoulder playfully, as though he expected and feared that Lucy would appear from thin air, at any moment.

"I don't believe in luck, anymore," Jack began with a teasing smile, moving his lips silently as he took a hand from behind her back into his and squeezed it affectionately, moving closer to her. "I believe in God. Luck couldn't have given me something like you...only God has the authority to give away an angel."

"Oh, shut up," Sue laughed at his light joking, but felt unwillingly endeared. "Why are you really here, other than to joke around before one of the most important hours of your life?"

"Our life," Jack mouthed, reaching to give her elbow a soft rub with his thumb, as well. "And how do you know that I was joking around? Anyways...I really came to see how you were doing. You seemed a bit flustered when I first saw all of you arrive."

Sue smiled guiltily, knowing that he was probably right; she was happier than she would ever be capable of explaining, and had been all day...but flustered, none the less. How could one not be with all the considerations that had been running around in her head for months now beating her mind insistantly.

_What matter? _ Jack asked, finally showing the real concern that he felt as he met Sue's gaze and lifted her fingers to his lips nervously.

God, he prayed that nothing was amiss, again. He prayed fervently that his mother had had no truly lasting effects. Though he had been reassured several times by Sue, both through words and actions, he could not help but worry. He had heard so many stories of brides and grooms-to-be getting cold feet...not that he did not trust Sue with everything within him...but how could he not feel even slightly anxious when Sue was so obviously bothered by something, unknown to him, such a short time before they would finally 'tie the knot'?

"Have you had any second thoughts?" Sue finally asked after several moments of silence on both their parts, relinquishing the only remaining worries to him, entrusting him with the most vulnerable of her fears.

Jack's heart felt as though a five ton weight had been dropped on it, at this. Please, God...where was she going with this?

_No, _Jack answered firmly and resolutely, maintaining unbroken eye contact with her dampening ones, becoming desperate for her to understand how certain he was. But what about her? _Have you?_

"Not really," Sue answered quietly after another pause to contemplate the returned question fully. She met Jack's eyes again and was pained to see the pain and hesitance in his, becoming aware that she had caused it. "Jack...," Sue began again slowly, pulling her arms around him. "Please don't worry that I've changed my mind, in the least...You haven't exactly allowed for me to find a reason to, now have you?"

Jack's expression and worried crease in his brow lightened at this, even more so when Sue smiled at him gently, but confidently.

"I only meant to ask...," Sue began again, her fingers of one hand brushing lightly at the scar on his neck, again. It was strange...but she thought it a beautiful scar. "If this was what you really want...Jack, it's been about me, almost the entire time...You are the one that stands to lose something from this. Are you ready to do that?"

So this was it. Jack breathed a heavy sigh as he mulled her words over briefly, aggravation with his parents returning quickly when he wanted nothing more than to feel blissfully happy, just as he wanted for Sue to be able to feel on their wedding day. But he knew that that simply could not be a complete reality, for them. Not for him, and not for her, thanks to the efforts of his parents. It would always be a point on which they would have to tread tenderly, but he had no fear that they would be able to continue their lives happily, despite it.

"Sue," Jack mouthed again, finding it much easier to silently mouth the words, rather than try and sign it sufficiently enough. "I'm losing one thing that I love very much...," Jack explained, taking her face gently into his grasp and bringing her as close to him as her line of vision would allow. "...but it is nothing into comparison to what I am gaining. Sue...there is not a single doubt in my mind that the trade-off is more than in our favors...there is not a doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life in your presence. Please understand that I no longer belong to myself...or anyone else, for that matter...but to you, entirely. I think that I actually have for years...but I cannot determine the exact moment in time or day or look that took away my self-possession. All I know is that, all of a sudden...I did not want to pick up women in bars, or drink to the point of intoxication, or do anything that I thought that you would disapprove of. All I wanted to do...was try my absolute best to be the kind of man that I thought that my little agent-in-training-ward would approve of. I may have been your training agent, from the beginning...but I think that even before then...before Quantico, or even before you moved away from that lunch table the day that I met you...I wanted your approval. I didn't know why...but I just did."

Jack wiped at a stray tear that escaped Sue's eye, being extra careful not to smear the carefully placed traces of makeup that Lucy had meticulously tended to.

"Do you understand that, Sue?" Jack asked again, his voice silent, but the movements meaning everything in the world to Sue.

"How could I not?" Sue replied, some moments later, taking in everything that he had confessed to. "I've been feeling the exact same way since you first introduced me to the team in the bullpen. I may be stubborn and do things my own way, a lot of time...most the time, even getting myself into sticky situations...but I always wanted your approval. You've no idea how much it hurt when you were annoyed or put out with me...but it did...even though I know that I mostly brought it on myself..."

Jack quieted her by pressing his lips softly to hers, not wishing to discuss that now. The service was supposed to begin in just a little while, he wanted her to focus on the fact that he did not care about her flaws...but loved them. He wanted to relish in the fact that she seemed to feel the same way about his many flaws.

_L-U-C-Y kill me for this, _Jack smiled, pulling away and signing once her attention was recalled. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead tenderly, trailing small kisses down her nose to her lips.

"JACKSON SAMUEL HUDSON!" Lucy's voice suddenly shrieked from the doorway, causing Jack to turn to her with a guilty smile and Sue followed suit when she realized where Jack's attention had suddenly been diverted to. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? GET OUT! We only have ten minutes...now get your butt to that alter before I kick you all the way there!"

"No need, shiela," Bobby's voice interjected just before he appeared in person, striding through the doorway. "We haven't done all this conspiring for years for nothing!"

Jack relunctantly released Sue as Bobby grabbed at his neck and squeezed painfully, but the laugh that he heard from Sue made it well worth it.

"Come on, Sparky!" Bobby laughed, releasing Jack but pushing him lightly ahead in mock authority. "What are you thinking? She's in her bloody dress, mate! That's like dancing in a mirror shop with a sledge hammer in each hand!" Bobby paused at the doorway once Jack had disappeared ahead of him and turned back to see Sue smiling, happy tears in her eyes. His face became much more serious, but like one of her loving brothers that now awaited the start of the service in the small crowd of their friends, family, and some colleagues. "By the way, Sue...you look absolutely beautiful."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lucy chided annoyedly, pulling out her compact powder and working quickly at Sue's face again. "Just make sure that your buddy out there can control himself for one day and wait until the honeymoon!"

"Righto!" Bobby answered, accepting his charge happily and he jogged after Jack, slowing to brisk walk when he entered the small church's gathering room and joined Jack at the alter, in his revered spot of the best man.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Sue calmed her friends frayed nerves, resting a hand on hers with a smile. "I'm glad that we got to talk...we needed to."

Sue's words effected Lucy more than she wanted to admit, but she brushed away the single tear of happiness for her dearest friend.

"Stop that, now, Sue," Lucy finally laughed as both women brushed lightly with their fingers to dry the sudden dampness of thier own faces. "Waterproof can only do so much."

**Ok, this is not the whole wedding scene, but it's a start. I'm meticulous about most facts, you may have noticed, and I felt that Sue and Jack really did need to completely resolve some things. I hope that I did, at least, an alright job of this. Please let me know what you think...I'm still nervous about the actual wedding part of this! :/**


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing, etc.**

**Yet another thanks to cheliosfan, Karyn, Huck05, SailorJP, Fanpire101, JaS2g, and Gremlinpugs for your reviews and the advice given! :) Also, a thanks to those reading, too!**

**Ok, I finally got my computer back for enough time to compose these chapters, so here we go. Finally! **

"You just let me know when you need a pep-talk, Jack," Jack heard Myles whisper from his left side, just beyond Bobby and Demetrius.

"Cling, clang, cling, clang," Bobby muttered playfully, not meeting Jack's eyes when he turned to glare at his best friend. "That's your ball and chain mate."

Jack smiled lightly, perfectly aware of the innocence of their joking. _You no like, why work hard to put together? _Jack asked, letting his eyes rove over the small, but crowded church house.

Bobby chuckled at his side, but said no more, moving to straighten Jack's bow tie to a more suitable angle, though his own remained askew. Jack smirked, but said nothing, knowing Bobby well enough to know that it was probably on purpose. How else was a bow tie turned completely sideways?

As Bobby worked on his tie and collar, Jack allowed his thoughts to take him, if only briefly.

It was strange...to feeling nervous here. He made a living that he loved dearly of chasing down hardened criminals with no conscious and no bounderies of what harm they would do to people, and very rarely had he felt as nervous as he did now. This was something else, entirely. Never would he regret this decision; he was not afraid...but the prospects of actually having a family...a wife and, hopefully, children...was rather daunting. He wanted them so badly; the very idea that he was about to embark on that once-in-a-lifetime adventure with Sue made him certain that, no matter what, he would die as the happiest man alive.

But, God help him, he wanted for Sue to be happy, even more. The pounding in his chest assured him that Sue was going to be happy, that they were going to be happy, together. However, his head kept nagging at him relentlessly. He was not really worried, nor had any thoughts to second guess himself, but how could he not question it, even remotely.

It was true that he had went to visit Sue to check on her; he had been curious as to how she was doing. However, what he had not told her, was that he had also visited her for a bit of self-reassurance, as well. He could not possibly have went through with this had he had the slightest inclination that it was not what she wanted. God bless her uncanny ability to put even his most rediculous fears and worries at bay.

"You know, mate," Bobby continued after a mere few seconds of his sparingly used silence. "This may pose a problem to our plans for next winters' season tickets for the home Capitals' games. She really couldn't say anything to you before...but do you think that she'll let you come out and play for a few hours so late at night?"

"Oooh." Myles blew out a low breath, his looking as though he had just watch a man take a punch to the abdomen. "That may pose a problem...eleven-thirty at night can be pretty late...especially to women. Maybe you could watch the games on the television and still get to some of the real action."

"What do you know about hockey, Harvard?" Bobby asked sarcastically, turning his gaze from Jack to Myles, as Jack looked on with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I like to feel superior to others," Myles whispered back, shrugging simply. "It's not very difficult to do when you're at a hockey game. Want to pass over those tickets that Jack won't be allowed to utilize? I think I would rather enjoy another 'guys' night'."

"Shut up, both of you," Demetrius instructed with a smile smile, just as the soft music began to play.

Jack's attention was immediately stolen away at the sound of the soft music that Carla had picked out: the traditional wedding march, but much lighter and intimate. Jack was never really one for music, especially this sort of genre, but it was incredibly soothing to his tightening stomach as he watched the heavy old oak doors at the back of the church room.

A light grasp on his shoulder pulled his attention away briefly as Sue's pastor squeezed his shoulder encouragingly, but Jack could not seem to keep his gaze from straying back towards the doors, even as he signed _thank you_ to him, in return.

After a few seconds of the processional music, Jack watched as Howie and Troy moved from either side of the large doorway to pull them open and the procession began. Jack's eyes first fell on little Abigail's face, Sue's niece, as she passed through the large doorways with her little white basket full of rose petals in hand. Her precious blonde curls waved as she shyly smiled and dropped the flower petals on the ground, making her way down the isle. A small laugh would have escaped him when he caught sight of the dark figure of fur trotting happily beside her. No wonder he had not seen Levi all day...he had been wondering why they had yet to find a ring bearer. Jack's smile widened as he heard the light wave of laughter from everyone in the church as Levi and Abigail proceeded down the isle, a small white pillow clasped in Levi's mouth.

"Waaait," Abigail's little pixie voice suddenly repremanded Levi as he moved on to Myles's side, a bit more excitedly than was planned. She stooped down and picked up something that Jack could not see. "You furgot da wing."

The ripples of laughter only increased as her adorable three year old mind panicked and she tried to drop her flower petals while hurrying her pace towards them, looking utterly confused as she placed the ring to Bobby's out-stretched hand.

Amanda, wearing a lovely dark red dress, suddenly appeared beside the small girl. The fifteen year old smile gracefully as she took Abigail's hand, causing the young toddler to smile happily, and led her over to the point where she should be standing. Amanda took her previously arranged space and pulled her arms politely behind her back as Tara appeared by her side.

Jack's gaze pulled back towards the crowd as the laughter settled, his eyes first resting on the left side of the front row where his two elder brothers and a single aunt sat, having been the only three of his small remaining family to show. The right side front row, on the opposite side of the isle, harbored Carla Thomas, a seat reserved for Daniel Thomas beside her, and following them sat Sue's brothers William, Kenneth, and Michael, with their respective spouses at their sides.

Looking back to the isle when the music grew a slightly more distinctive, Jack watched as Lucy strode elegantly down the center of the isle with a brilliant and excited smile on her face. He could not help but notice the look that she gave him, reminding him that he was yet to be forgiven for his little call into Sue's dressing room. When she reached the foot of the alter and took her place next to Tara, completing the line of brides' maids and making the perfect picture of a maid of honor, Jack flashed her mischievious grin that smothered her imperiously raised eyebrow and glare to the point of softening with a small laugh.

A new melody suddenly began to play, still a wedding march, but much richer and more elegant in its execution.

"Jack," D.'s voice suddenly whispered as he leaned around Bobby and tapped Jack's elbow briefly. Jack took the smallest of seconds to look at his friend, resistant to miss the sight when Sue appeared. "That, right there, is the only pep-talk that any man would ever need." D. nodded back towards the doorway with a knowing grin and soft understanding in his eyes.

Looking back to the end of the isle, Jack's eyes immediately met Sue's through the sheer veil, and he could not help the small smile that spread over his features, not even coming close to mirroring the pride, joy, and admiration that he thought that it should. But it was what he could manage.

The constricting tightness in his chest was an almost wonderful pain as he watched Sue slowly make her way down the isle, her hand grasping her father's lovingly, as the entirety of the church stood to their feet.

She was stunning. Simply stunning, to Jack, as he took her in again. He had seen her in the dressing room...but he had to admit that he had been rather distracted and too careful not to mess her hair or dress to truly appreciate her appearance to the extent that she deserved. He swallowed hard as he let his gaze fall over her form, the white satin dress falling regally down to her feet, a simple dark red bit of lace and ribbon encircling her waist, matching perfectly with the brides' maids' dresses and his and the other mens' ties. It was so simple a design, yet classy and elegant. It matched Sue perfectly, in every aspect.

Jack watched the magnificent smile the formed from her lips as she and her father nearly reached the end of the isle and he turned her to mouth something to her, before leaning forward and gently pulling the veil aside to place a loving kiss on his daughter's cheek.

_You. Me. Together forever. _Jack felt as though his throat could possibly close up altogether as he watched them sign simultaneously between themselves, tears becoming slightly obvious in the soft lights of the church. Something told him that it had been one of those father and daughter things that had lasted from her childhood, a simple gesture that only they shared.

"Please be seated," Pastor Thames began, lowering his hands over the crowd as if he were personally pressing them to their seats. "We are gathered here today, in the sight of God, to join this man...and this woman...in holy matrimony..."

Jack heard the words in the back of his mind and knew that he should be paying much more attention, as they would soon prove to be the most important words of his life, but he could not seem to pull his gaze from Sue, her hand still resting peacefully on his arm. Her soft curls of her golden hair fell over her shoulders enticingly, but Jack soon felt her gaze on him.

"Who gives this woman?" Pastor Thames asked, already regarding Mr. Thomas.

"I do," Daniel answered and Jack could see the emotions in his eyes, as well as in Carla's, a few feet behind him, in her chair.

Sue's soft eyes left his as she kissed her father's cheek, one last time, before he placed her hand in Jack's.

_You good to her, _Daniel signed and said to Jack with a teary smile, causing another ripple of laughter from the small crowd. _Else me and brothers play hockey and you no have stick or pads._

"I second that motion," Bobby joined in, reaching forward to give Daniel a small high-five, which was returned before Sue's brothers made a small _we're-watching-you _sign with their hands.

Jack felt the small vibrations of a laugh in his chest as Sue's own light laugh met his ears, making his smile grow wider as he tightened her hand warmly in his and guided her up the steps to stand in front of the preacher.

The gentle laughter died down, again, when the preacher began to speak. "Join hands, please," he requested, almost uselessly, as their hands were already enveloped in the other's. "I believe that the two of you have prepared your own vows?"

Sue nodded gently, turned slightly to accept the ring that Lucy was offering with her. When she met Jack's gaze, once more, Jack could see that she was nervous, as well. She may have been nervous, but there was also something else there that told him that no amount of nerves would cause her to hesitate.

"Jack," Sue began, her eyes lowering to their joined hands, at first, but quickly returning to his own again as another tear slipped down her cheek. "For the past few years, ever since I've came to D.C., we've been through a lot together. I admit...that most of the trouble that I ever got into...I caused." Another wave of quiet laughter passed through the crowd, most noticeably from those guests from the F.B.I.. "But...even before you even knew who I was...you believed in me and gave me a chance. Ever since that day...you have taken care of me. You've always been there for me, when you really had no responsibility to be, and have come up to bat for me more times than I can count. You started out being just the man that wanted to give me a better chance, then you were my training agent. Somewhere in there...you became one of my closest friends...one of the only people in the world that I turn to. I love you, more than you could ever know...because words just aren't enough...and there is no sign that could describe it.

"I love you, so very much, Jack," Sue went on, her small fingers tangling themselves with Jack's as she began to fit the ring onto the correct left-hand finger. "I want to be for you what you have been for me. I want to make you feel as loved as you make me feel every single day that we are together. I gladly swear to you that I will never leave your side. I swear to support you...no matter what. I swear to stay with you in sickness and in health. I swear never to put any other worldly person before you. I swear never to forsake you in rich or in poor...or in dark times or light. I cannot possibly leave you, because I would be leaving an important part of me with you. I love you...and with this ring...I thee wed."

Sue slipped the ring onto his finger the rest of the way and smiled up at him, yet again, making his heart yearn for her as another happy tear escaped her.

"Jackson Samuel Hudson," Pastor Thames addressed Jack. "Do you take this woman, Susan Carla Thomas, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold?"

Jack pulled away one hand only briefly enough to sign _yes, _as he also nodded his head and mouthed the words "I do" to Sue.

He more sense, rather than saw or felt, Bobby moving forward to stand directly at his side. He withheld the small golden band, however, as Jack began to sign to Sue.

_S-U-E, _Jack began, the sound of Bobby's voice speaking as he translated for the crowd soothing to his churning stomach, full of nerves and excitement. Sue's hazel eyes met his, calming him to the very core and he relaxed. He was speaking only to her. _I love you...with all inside me. I no wait to live life with you. I no wait to share my day and night with you. I look forward to go sleep beside you and wake up with you. What I promise today...may God my witness...I never break promise. I promise I love you forever. I promise I never lie to you. I promise I never leave you. I promise take care you in sick and in health...in rich and in poor. I promise I never put other human before you. I want have children with you. I look forward make family with you. With ring...I you wed._

"Susan Carla Thomas," Pastor Thames said once Jack directed her teary attention towards him, reveling in the beauty of her joyful smile. "Do you take this man, Jackson Samuel Hudson, to be your lawfully wedded husband, in the site of God?"

"I do," Sue answered softly, the moisture in her eyes collecting in greater amounts and falling down her cheeks to her lips.

This was the water that broke the bridge. As soon as Pastor Thames uttered the words " I now pronounce you man and wife...you may now kiss the bride", Jack did just that. Lifting the thin veil from her face and setting it over her, Jack took her face gently in his hands and brushed away the dampness of her eyes with his thumbs. Jack cleared away all other traces of her tears with his lips on her own. This kiss was deep and meaningful, as though it were their very first. However, when Jack heard the eruption of applause and Bobby and Demetrius slapped him approvingly on the back, Jack dipped Sue backwards, his lips still capturing her own.

This only earned him a roar of laughter and greater applause from the small gathering and a reproving slap on the arm from Sue for startling her...but he was soon forgiven when her fingers caressed his neck, over his scar, and she pressed her lips to his again.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Pastor Thames announced when they broke apart and stood before their guests. "I now give you Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Samuel Hudson."

**Was that corny?**

**Ok, I know that it wasn't described as the traditional silent and reverance filled wedding, but I think that it would be exceedingly more comfortable if the atmosphere was more relaxed and people were not afraid to joke and laugh a bit. Just a personal opinion. I did not know how, on earth, else to write this particular chapter. **

**I said that I was not very good with wedding-writing. Be brutal, if you like...it'll be constructive criticism in case I ever need to write another wedding scene. :)**

**One more thing...I haven't the slightest clue what Sue's middle name would be, so I improvised.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the show. **

**Thanks so much to cheliosfan, , Huck05, Karyn, luv4animals, JaS2g, felicity18, and Gremlinpugs for your great reviews! It's a relief that the wedding scene seemed to have passed the test, thus far. :) Also, thank you to all of the other readers.**

**Warning: This chapter is a bit of a songfic chapter, but only because it's during the reception! Just a little peek into Jack's mind as he and Carla watch the Father and Daughter dance.**

**I Loved Her First belongs to Heartland, not me...in fact, I probably have some of the lyrics messed up. If so, I apologize!**

_Look at the two of you,_

_Dancing that way._

_Lost in the moment, _

_In each other's face._

_So much in love, your alone in this place,_

_Like there's nobody else in the world._

"Mr. Hudson?" The sound of Carla's voice pulled Jack out of the revere that he had been in, watching Sue and Daniel dancing slowly to the soft music that filled up the rustic gathering area that they had chosen. "Or, may I call you Jack, now?"

Jack smiled at the grin on her face, not very accustomed to an at-ease Mrs. Thomas, but she was constantly growing on him. Jack pulled out the notepad in his pocket.

**You may call me whatever you like, Mrs. Thomas, **Jack answered.

"Then you must call me, Carla, Jack," Carla replied, patting his arm. Silence fell between them for a few moments as they looked back to the beautifully regal picture that Sue made, dancing with her father. Jack could see the tears on her and Daniel's cheeks, as well as several of their guests...Lucy and Tara were holding each other, half smiles and half sobs.

_I was enough for her,_

_Not long ago._

_I was her number one,_

_She told me so._

_And she still means the world to me,_

_Just so you know._

_So be careful when you hold my girl._

_Love changes everything,_

_Life must go on._

_And I'm not gonna stand in your way._

"It has come to my attention, Jack," Carla went on, and Jack slightly noted the tenderness in her voice. Something that he knew her never to have been specifically known for. "That, after the initial start of the father and daughter dance, the groom usually dances with his mother."

It had occurred to Jack, several times, in fact, that they would be missing that small aspect. But he had ignored it. It was more than enough for him to watch Sue and her father as the love for her burned pleasantly and painfully inside of him, and the fondness for his newly-found parents-in-law continued to peak.

"I know that it isn't the same...," Carla continued as realization slowly dawned on Jack, his muddled mind from watching Sue and Daniel not helping him much. "But...if you would like...I would gladly substitute. I know that it's not like that final dance with your real mother...but every son should have the opportunity to..."

Jack smiled lightly and held up a hand politely to stifle her speech, that was growing more and more into a ramble.

**I would be honored to dance with my new mother-in-law, **Jack wrote, handing her the paper and then holding out his hand. **May I have this dance, Carla?**

_But I loved her first._

_I held her first._

_And a place in my heart,_

_Will always be hers._

_From the first breath she breathed,_

_When she first smiled at me._

_I knew the love of a father runs deep._

_And I prayed that she'd find you some day._

_But it's still hard to give her away._

_I loved her first._

_Beautiful song, _Jack signed uncertainly, after a few moments of silent dancing with Carla, both people's attention focused on Sue and Daniel.

He could tell that Carla struggled to recognize the signs and remembered Sue telling him that she had never learned, like her father. But she obviously knew, at least, a little more than they were aware of. It took a moment and some mildly humorous looks of concentration on Carla's part, but she finally comprehended.

"Oh, yes," Carla replied, meticulously picking an imperceptible speck of thread or some unknown fuzz from Jack's shoulder. "Daniel picked it out...the boys had him listen to it when they heard it on the radio."

Jack nodded in understanding, catching a brilliant, albeit teary, smile that Sue regarded her father with as he kissed her forehead.

"He's a bit of a quiet man," Carla explained, her eyes on her husband and daughter, as well. "He's never been one for serious contradiction or arguements...he chooses his own battles. But...you should know...that he would never have so obligingly surrendered his baby girl to anyone that he thought even the slightest bit unworthy...I'm actually suprised that you haven't recieved your fill of questions and demands and tests."

_How could that beautiful woman with you,_

_Be the same freckle-faced kid that I knew?_

_The one that I read all those fairytales to,_

_And tucked into bed all those nights?_

_And I knew the first time I saw you with her,_

_It was only a matter of time._

Jack listened closely to her and the song as Sue snuggled into her father's chest, mesmerized by the action between a father and his daughter. He had known that they were close, but now he could see how much love their was between them. The whole room could probably see it. His chest began to constrict; he had known, all too well, what an enormous step this was for them and that a new life really was beginning...but he had never managed to consider the other effects. He had just never had that with his own parents, even when they were good parents throughout his childhood. They had never been that close.

It was mesmerizing to watch the pure innocence, child-like, beautiful, innocent love that Sue felt for her father. That love being reciprocated ten-fold in Daniel's eyes. This was so much bigger for them. It really was almost like he was taking her away from him, the man that loved her so much...and it was even more touching that Daniel seemed relunctantly willing to give her away to him.

"He really likes you, you know," Carla pressed on in their one-sided conversation, but knowing that Jack was listening intently. "So do her brothers...your brothers now...William, Kenneth, and Michael. By the way, you may want to call William-Bill, Kenneth-Kenny, and Michael-Mikie. It's kind of just a system that they have always had...and they seem to prefer it."

_Thank you, _Jack signed, truly thankful for the family advice, however misplaced or strangely timed.

_But I loved her first._

_I held her first._

_And a place in my heart,_

_Will always be hers._

_From the first breath she breathed._

_When she first smiled at me,_

_I knew the love of a father runs deep._

_Someday you might know what I'm going through,_

_When a miracle smiles up at you._

_I loved her first._

The song ended, and so, effectively, did their conversation. Jack lightly smiled as he pulled his mother-in-law's hand up for a polite kiss before trading dancing partners with Daniel. Jack paused briefly as he reached for Sue when Daniel grasped his arm and shoulder swiftly, giving him a look and nod of mutual understanding. Jack returned the gesture whole-heartedly, now knowing the true depth of what he was being blessed with by this man...knowing what a father was giving up to him.

"Alright, now, folks," the forced voice from a nearby make-shift stage area forced Jack's head to jerk around quickly, along with all of the others in the old rustic but lovely fire station. "Elvis wants to slow this down a bit for the little lovebirds...little lady and her 'teddybear', thank you very much."

The sight that met Jack's eyes as he and Sue both recognized Bobby upon the stage was priceless. There stood one of their best friends and coworkers...dressed in the prop suit from one of Bobby's undercovers, pulling off the Elvis act like a professional.

"Bobby!" Jack heard Demetrius call from some place close behind them on the side area to the dance floor. He mocked Bobby's Australian accent. "Looks good on ya, mate!"

Jack felt the laughter tearing at his chest, nearly doubled over at the sight of Bobby in his white jumpsuit and Myles coming up beside him, dressed as his manager.

"It's good to have you back, Colonel," Bobby went on, deeping his facade and arranging his dark glasses more appropriately on his face. "I mean it. Elvis has missed ya...it's been a long time. I've been getting 'all shook up'."

Jack pulled Sue tighter into his grasp, vaguely seeing the laughing faces of the many others at the reception as he laughed, Sue's face buried against his chest as she laughed so hard, crying with humor and the lasting tears from her dance with her father.

"Well, there it is, little lady," Bobby said, striking a famous Elvis pose when Sue finally looked back up at him, still standing in Jack's embrace. "Now...you just let the king sing you a bit of sweet music while you dance with your new hound dog." Levi could be heard barking loudly from where he was beneath Lucy and Tara's table. "No offense Levi...you know you're the king's right hand dog."

Finally pulling himself together from the fit of deep laughter, Jack pulled Sue into a proper dancing position. Her arms wrapped around him securely, almost needy, and she rested her head against his shoulder and Bobby began to sing the song for their first dance.

_"Wise men say-only fools jump in-," _Jack mouthed to her, repeating the words of the song that Bobby, or more likely Lucy or Tara, had chosen for him to sing. He wanted her to have this, too. _"But I can't help-falling in love with you."_

Sue's lips brushed softly and unconsciously seductively against his jawbone, traces kisses across to his lips. Jack met her lips eagerly, gently overtaking her mouth with his own, but respectful to the fact that her father and three brothers were present.

God, how could he have possibly been any happier?

**The whole Elvis thing may have definately been on the cheesy side, but I just couldn't resist when the idea came to me! I love the episode-Elvis is in the Building-and I happen to love Elvis, myself. So there it is, my guilty little pleasure for this story! lol I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!**

**Only two or three more chapters to go...I promise fluffiness galore. And, oh yeah!, Can't Help Falling In Love With You belongs to Elvis!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: It's not mine! :)**

**Thank you to cheliosfan, Huck05, SailorJP, Fanpire101, JaS2g, felicity18, Creek-IB-08, and Countrygirl09 for your reviews! And thank you to those who read. Here's a bit of pure and utter fluffiness, just because a long story with many ups and downs needs it!**

**I'm going to rate this one M. It's slightly graphic, but little more than I've published before. The situation is between husband and wife and, I hope, tastefully written. Thank you.**

**Thank you, sir, **Jack scribbled quickly on a sheet of his paper, pulling out a few bills and pressing them both into the bell boy's hand. **That will be all. Please, we won't require any services in the morning. If we do, we'll come down.**

"Yes, sir. It's been my pleasure, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson," the young teenager answered, fumbling around in his pocket for the keycard while trying to maintain a grip on the two suitcases in his hands and accept the offered tip from Jack.

Jack waved him down a bit, indicating that he should drop the luggage there.

"We have it from here," Sue said with a light smile, tucking a lock of her remaining curls behind her ear. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome ma'am," the young blonde boy replied with an amiable smile, but seeming somewhat shy, however. "Oh...and um...congratulations."

_Thank you, _Jack signed, pulling an suitcase under his arm and grasping the other with his hand. He continued with his free hand. _How you know?_

"He said 'thank you'," Sue translated at the young man's narrowed brows. "And, he wants to know how you knew."

"An Australian gentleman that knows our manager called and informed us that a newly wed Hudson couple would be arriving tonight," he answered, seeming far more interested in how Jack had communicated, rather than why. "Was that sign language, there?"

"Yes," Sue said and signed as Jack opened the door with the card that the bell boy had surrendered to him. "My husband is mute and I'm deaf, but I can tell what you're saying, so long as you make sure that I can see your lips."

"Really? Is that from that large scar on your neck?" the boy, Tom, according to his nametag, asked. But his expression immediately fell into the picture of shame and horror. "I'm so sorry, sir! That was rude of me...I...I apologize. Ugh...my mother is always telling me that I never think before I speak...I'm sorry...I mean...uh...I'll let your maid know to look at you for when she comes tomorrow...I mean...whenever you tell us that you would like her sent up."

_It ok, _Jack answered, brushing his comment aside, but rather impressed by the boy's true sorrow. It really had not been bothering him all that much, anymore. _Good night._

Sue translated, patting Tom on the shoulder, and Tom disappeared down the empty hallway.

"You know," Jack mouthed, his hands full with their luggage as he also held the door open for Sue, a grin on his face. "I really liked hearing you call me your husband, just then."

Sue smiled shyly, pulling his large jacket closer about her small frame. Passing through the door that he held for her, she brushed her hand over the side of his face.

"I liked saying it," Sue replied, shutting the door behind them just when he stepped out of the way. _I love call you my husband, _Sue signed, comfortable with her more natural way of speaking.

_I love my wife, _Jack replied, their luggage dropping from his hands where they stood and he reached behind him to secure the deadbolt lock, ensuring privacy.

He swooped Sue into his embrace in an instant, trapping her lips with his hungrily. He was not certain why, but he felt an enormous sense of relief and a surge of happiness as she reacted with just as much fervor. It was not rough or hurried, but simply intoxicating with the smooth and fluid way that they seemed to form together.

_I love you, _Jack pressed into her side with one hand as his other moved from her jawbone to the end of her shirt, shifting it upwards gently to feel the soft warm skin beneath.

"I love you, too," Jack heard Sue reply, her voice breathy against his ear, her breathing quickening as his lips moved down her jaw and to her neck. "Jack...?"

_Yes? _Jack asked, pulling away to look deeply into her soft hazel eyes, the absolute innocence and trust that he saw there somewhat daunting; he had never really pondered on it before, her being with another man not exactly a thought that he wished to dwell on...but, somehow, he knew what she was about to say.

"Jack...I've...," Sue began, seeming somewhat shy as she spoke, casting her eyes down and bothering her lower lip with her teeth. "I've...never...umm."

He was not shocked...but he would be lying if he tried to say that he was not suprised in the most pleasant of ways. He touched her chin lightly with his fingers, drawing her inebriating hazel eyes to meet his own dark ones.

"You've never...?" Jack mouthed, not wanting to release her or move far away enough for her to see his hands properly.

Sue shook her head in the negative and slowly moved her hands from their place around his broad shoulders down his arms, unaware of the complete seductiveness of the motion. Both of her hands met his one at her waist and brushed lightly at his fingers.

"I made a promise to God a long time ago," Sue began slowly, her eyes meeting his again. "That I wouldn't...with anyone...but the man that would be my husband...I promised myself that,...but, later...I realized that I had promised him that, my husband, I mean. That I had promised _you_ that."

Jack suddenly felt very sobered, at her words, but he pulled her closer as he closed his eyes to listen to her voice. He was a man and, honestly, had never really given much in-depth thought to intimacy before he had met Sue. But then they had met, and everything had changed for him. He had never wanted to dwell on this, but he needed to think about it, now.

"Sue...," he began to mouth, again, his eyes still shut as he concentrated on getting his words out, but still holding her very close. "I...am never going to be able to give you...what you're telling me that you're about to give to me. I..."

"I know that, Jack," Sue answered him a bit nervously, rubbing at his arms with her hands. She sincerely had not meant to cause this; she had only intended to ask him for his guidance and understanding, as she was quite nervous. "I...didn't mean..."

_I know, _Jack answered, relunctantly pulling away one hand. "But I am still sorry. I wish...I wish that I had something that special to give to you...but I don't. I can only assure that...well, that...ever since I met you...I haven't been with another woman."

Sue seemed humorously surprised by that and her eyebrows rose, a small smile breaking over her face. "What? No picking up women in bars?"

_No, _Jack assured her with a smile of his own, perfectly aware that she was trying to lighten the atmosphere that they had created. It had been a difficult confession to make, having always rather secretly liked the fact that Sue had appeared somewhat jealous when other women had paid him attention. But she was his wife...the one the he loved and trusted above all others, now. He wanted her to know; he wanted it to mean something to her.

"Well, what about...?" Sue began again, but Jack silenced her with a soft kiss on her mouth, halting the progress of her moving lips.

_I no want talk this now, _Jack answered when he pulled away. _Please, I explain in morning. _

"Ok," Sue agreed with a delicate smile, pulling her arms back around his waist. "Just...promise me something."

"Anything," Jack vowed silently, tightening the grip that he had taken around her lower back and minimizing their distance apart.

"I just...I've never...," Sue began again, trying to explain, but Jack's soft smile quieted her, yet again.

"I know," he mouthed, tracing the center line down her back with his fingertips. "I promise that I will be very, very gentle...We can take as long as you need or want...I promise...I never want to hurt you."

Sue smiled in reply, moving a hand to his jawbone. Ever so tenderly, she lifted his chin to view that scar that she had become so accustomed to admiring. Moving lightly to the tips of her toes, she traced a light kiss over the large circumference.

"You know," she began to whisper, feeling quite silly, but completely honest. "I hate how you got it...but I really love that, there...It just shows what exactly you can make it through...and still be a wonderful man."

She felt Jack's hand move into her hair and he backed away to look at her face, his eyes feeling as though they were roving over her every feature. His lips were on hers, in a second, and Sue immediately reacted by stepping backwards, her arms still around him, pulling him across the unfamiliar hotel room towards where she had noted that the bed was. When she felt the coolness of the bedframe against the backs of her legs, she lowered herself onto hit, Jack following the lead that she had taken, both somehow managing to kick off thier shoes, in the process. She knew that he would never have really initiated it until she left him with no doubt, not when she had expressed the slightest bit of worry.

His hands burned pleasantly against her skin as they drifted upwards, pulling her shirt upper undergarment over her head with them. When the one on her wounded side met the large bandage, she felt it immediately soften its touch to a velvet smoothness and Sue felt as though her chest really would burst. Her lips danced and molded over his as his tongue pressed lightly to them and she admitted him entrance.

_I love you, _she pressed into his side, feeling the weight of him atop her as she became vaguely aware that they were absently situating themselves in a more appropriate verticle angle upon the mattress.

_I love you, _his larger fingers formed, also, against her own side.

Sue moved her grasp down his side and tugged at his shirts, untucking them from his pants and working on the buttons as his lips moved from hers to explore her neck, again. When she finally managed to unfasten them and Jack pulled off his collared shirt and undershirt, Sue drifted her hand lower to unhook and pull off his belt, but Jack's hands stilled hers when he felt them shaking slightly.

Taking her soft hands into one of his own, Jack pulled the comforter and sheets from beneath Sue and covered them both within their warm depths. Easily removing his trousers and underclothes, Jack turned back to Sue with an understanding expression.

"Don't worry, Sue," he mouthed again, moving closer to her and pulling her back into his arms warmly. He pressed a tender kiss on her forehead before continuing. "We can take all the time that you want...don't think that I want you to rush. Please...just...do everything at your own pace and tell me if I'm going too fast."

Sue nodded, a small smile and a tear escaping her simultaneously at his words. Jack brushed away the dampness with his thumb and lowered his lips back to hers. His chest was pounding more than it had the night of his heart attack, but this time was far less painful. It was a wonderful pain. He loved the woman in his arms so much that he could not explain it, even to himself. The last thing that he wanted was for her to remember their first time together as a painful or unpleasant experiance.

"Just...show me, please, Jack," Sue requested, the nerves still slightly audible behind the certainty of her whispering voice. "I love you...I trust you."

Jack smiled at this, as well, feeling as though the tears would betray him, soon. He kissed her forehead, again, then both eyes, and the edge on either side of her jawbone.

_I be gentle, _Jack promised, one last time, his hands moving towards her waist, taking the light fabric of her skirt downwards with them. _I love you, Mrs. H-U-D-S-O-N._

* * *

><p>Sue blinked tiredly against the bright light invading the sleepy darkness of her mind and buried her face deeper into the expanse that she had been employeeing as a pillow. The warm moisture made the flesh of Jack's chest feel rather damp, but she was certain that her own skin felt the same way. Using one hand to pull the thick comforter farther over them, Sue snuggled deeply into Jack's arms that still encirled her, one large hand coming to rest on the lowest part of her back.<p>

Morning. Usually, she was very much a morning person, but just not today. The memories of the previous night and the dreams that it had initiated were still too real...still too intoxicating. She was not quite ready to leave them; not until Jack had awoken, too, at least.

But she did not have to wait very long before she felt the muscles that she was resting upon tense and then release and his warm hand moved up her back, only to pull her closer into him. Sue smiled lightly as she felt Jack press his face into the crook of her neck and her hand felt the vibrations of his morning groan in his chest. Sue closed her eyes tightly at the sensation of his lips on her neck as his other hand was tracing over the warm flesh of her hip and upwards towards the side of her chest.

_Good morning, _she felt Jack fingerspell against her, still hiding from the imposing sunlight within the safety of her neck and shoulder.

"Good morning," Sue answered, moving her hand to finger with short brown hair at the nape of his neck.

She felt Jack press his lips and the tip of his tongue against her neck, once more, before finally braving the rays of sunshine that shone brightly through the white curtains that were obviously not doing their job very competently.

_Bright, _Jack stated, rubbing at his eyes with the hand that was not still wrapped about her possessively.

Sue nodded her concurrence, nibbling at her lower lip, again. She knew that it was really still too early to start any conversations deeper than a tender 'I love you' or 'how did you sleep', but what he had said the night before had gotten her really thinking.

"Jack," Sue ventured slowly, tracing small, unindentifiable shapes on his chest and lifting her eyes to meet the welcoming dark brown of his own. "Can I ask you something?"

"As long as it's not for a divorce or an annulment...anything," Jack mouthed playfully, his limbs stretching, constricting and releasing beneath the blankets.

"Never," Sue assured him with a small smile of her own, before continuing. "I was just wondering, really...about...what you said last night...When you said that you haven't been with anyone since you met me. Were you serious?"

"I wouldn't have joked about something like that, Sue," Jack answered silently, his expression growing serious, but not severe.

"I know...I just," Sue went on, trying to explain herself. "I mean...it's just...we've known each other for years...but we've only been together for a few months. I just...I never expected to see you say that."

"Oh," Jack replied noiselessly, pulling both arms back around her as he sat up a little straighter and pulling her up with him to settle into his chest, covering them with the sheets. "Well, believe it, or not, I actually meant every word of it. I really haven't slept with anyone, other than you, last night, in quite a few years."

"But why?" Sue asked, still curious. It was not that she did not approve or even like that fact, but it honestly intrigued her that a single, highly available, bacholar such as Jack had not actually lived the lifestyle for years, when he had no duties or reasons not to. The thought that he had not, since meeting her, had actually warmed her heart, but she still wondered at it.

"Why?" Jack repeated, truly pondering on the reason why that he had so avoided for the past few years. He had not wanted to think about it then, because he had known that they would never have been allowed to be together...but now he could. Now it only made sense to. "Because...from the day that I met you when you stomped into the bullpen and then we had lunch in the canteen...I kept seeing your face." Jack mouthed, pausing to think of how to explain this to her in a way that she would understand; or, at least, that he would fully understand. "Like...you know the night of Bobby's birthday party, when I was seeing Rhonda? Well...we went back to her place...but, I just couldn't. It was driving me crazy...but, for some reason, I kept seeing your face."

"So," Sue answered with a wry grin, playfully mocking offense. "My face turns you off of women?"

"Hardly," Jack scoffed, or would have, but no sound erupted from him. "I just...could not, with a good conscious, have done anything with Rhonda when I kept thinking about you. Honestly, I thought that I was going slightly insane...seeing a young woman that I barely knew at all moments of the day. But...then I realized why I kept thinking of you."

Sue shifted her position slightly against Jack's chest to see his lips better, but cuddled up against him, wondering where this was all going.

"I realized that I cared a lot about what you thought of me," Jack finished, knowing that Sue understood just as fully, even though it still felt strange to him to not hear his own words. "The look on your face that night when Rhonda had shown up...you seemed so disappointed. I would never have told you then...but I never wanted to see that look on your face, again, and it hurt me to think that I had caused it.

"And then, once I had broken up with Rhonda, due to her obvious unhappiness at my unwillingness," Jack continued, feeling as though his explaination had become a bit of an awkward speech, but Sue's attention was fully on the movement of his lips and she seemed to be paying close attention to his words. Damn, this was a difficult thing to discuss with one's wife. "It had just went on like that. I kind of grew from seeing your face, to thinking about you all hours of the day, to wanting you to think well of me and being in your good opinion...to desiring your respect."

"You always had my respect," Sue replied, her brows narrowing.

"Yes, perhaps as a friend, a team leader, and an agent," Jack answered mutely, brushing at her hair with his fingers. "But I wanted your respect as a man...as someone that you would want to be with, if the Bureau had ever allowed it. I know that it might sound crazy...but, everytime that Allie and then Jessica had been around...I had never been able to stop thinking of you and what you would say, or think, or feel, had I been with them. I was no longer my own man that made my own decisions...I was yours."

Sue's eyebrows rose at this and she felt genuinely surprised. For all the years that she and Jack had been close friends and coworkers, she had never imagined that she had had such an effect on him.

"I'm sorry," Sue answered, feeling rather ashamed that she had never noticed the trouble that she had been causing him.

Jack's fingers moved to her chin, once more, requesting gently that she look at him. Sue obliged, but honestly did not expect to see the brilliant smile on his face.

"Don't be," Jack mouthed before leaning down to kiss her briefly, but deeply. "Don't be sorry for helping me to raise my morals and wanting to be a better man...one that was trying desperately to be worthy of you. I love you, all the more, for it."

Sue smiled, but it turned into more of a laugh when Jack, his hand accidently brushing over her fraying bandage, looked immediately surprised and distracted from their conversation.

_We need change that before shower, _Jack signed simply, releasing her after one more quick peck on the lips, and turning to throw his legs over the side of the bed.

Sue watched his muscular back as he pulled one of their dropped bags towards him and pulled out a pair of his pajama bottoms and pulled them on. Tapping on his elbow, Sue held her hand expectantly. Jack rolled his eyes playfully before pulling out one of the nightgowns that she had brought.

Pulling it over her head, Sue stood up from the bed carefully, having not realized just how sore her side had become. Pulling the comforter and sheet back, she sighed in relief that there was no blood visible, and moved around the bed.

_No, _Jack halted her as she reached for the small bag that Amelia had sent with them, filled with plenty of extra bandaging supplies. _I get._

Sue rolled her eyes at him, but smiled, all the same, as she turned, instead, towards the long beautiful wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Looking out against the bright morning sun, Sue looked down on the expanse of morning commuters and cars that were now roving and bustling along in the streets of the large city. One very large and oddly shaped white building, in particular caught her eye, and Sue stared at it in near awe.

"Bobby was right," Sue said, still staring down from the window as Jack came to her side and dropped to his knees.

_How? _Jack asked, pulling the curtain to conceal her from the open window as he lifted the side of her nightdress up to her side and ever-so-carefully and gently began to remove the old bandage from her side.

"Sydney is beautiful," Sue answered him, looking back down at the famous Australian operahouse through the line curtains.

Jack smiled at the awe in her voice and expression as he looked up at her, then pulled out a strip of cleaning gauze and a bottle of medical alcohol. Carefully cleansing the sight of her still rather significant, but healing, wound, Jack blew on it softly to help with the stinging. Feeling Sue's hand descend to his hair, Jack ripped away the paper covering from the new bandage and slowly and steadily placed the crisp fresh dressing over her side.

Lightly pressing his lips to the area for several moments, Jack pulled away and began gathering up the supplies and trash.

"You know," Jack mouthed her her, his hands full, but his eyes catching her full attention. "I really hate how you got it," Jack repeated her former sentiments, but meant every word, as though they were truly his. "But I really love that, there." He touched the edges of her already scarring wound tenderly. "It just shows how much you can make it through...and still be a wonderful woman."

The smile that Sue repaid him with made it worth it, and more. With one last kiss, Jack moved to drop the bandaging supplies back into the suitcase and disposed of the bits of paper and gauze.

"Oh, and Jack," Sue called after him as he moved towards the bathroom and put on the hot water. Meeting him in the bathroom, Sue pulled out the bottles of shampoo and conditioner and bar of soap that they had brought with them and placed them on the edge of the shower. "By the way, I've made you an appointment for next month, on the seventh."

_Why? _Jack asked, his brows narrowing in confusion. _Who?_

"Do you remember my speech therapist, Ms. Casey?" Sue asked, uncertain of if she was going about this the right way, the way that the team had planned, but thankful that he seemed to be calm and listening. "The one that I told you I called the 'iron witch'?"

_Yes, _Jack signed suspiciously, but slightly distracted as Sue began to pull of her nightgown and step towards the shower.

"Well, it's with her," Sue answered softly, desperate not to upset him, but she had to tell him sometime and hated keeping things from him. At his serious gaze, she continued. "I was talking to the team...after the whole deal with Diana Grove at the cafe. They said that you definately made a loud noise, because that's what got their attention, just before you knocked me out of the way."

Jack's gaze did not soften, but he was listening.

"Listen, Jack," Sue sighed, pulling him into the shower with her as he distractedly removed his own bottoms again. "I could have sworn that you had said something that night in the park. But, you said that you didn't, so I believed you. I mean...I could exactly argue with you, could I? But when the team told me that...I called my mother to see if I could talk to her. When I called Ms. Casey and told her the situation, she said that it's very possible that you have been making noises and saying a few small things, but haven't realized it, because the noises where small or either more like a shout or a yell to you. You may not have noticed them, or didn't believe that you had made them, because you think that you can't."

_No, S-U-E..._Jack began, but Sue soon halted him as the water began to pour over them and Sue touched his arm, her mind torn between the seductiveness of their physical situation and need for him to understand their conversation and what she was saying.

"Jack," Sue finally whispered, feeling his hands on her waist as he pulled her closer to him, both now soaked. "I can't tell you any different because I'll never hear you, even if you started singing the national anthem and I know that you aren't comfortable with the team discussing it. They only care, Jack...but, sometimes, it is a bit much, especially when they think that you are regaining your voice."

Jack's gaze was still serious and his face and expression firm, but his eyes never left hers, feeling the need in her eyes as they bore into his. He knew that it pained her, the fact that it did still bother him when he went to say something, but no noise came out. Had it been anyone else, any of the other women that he had ever been involved with, or even his parents, he would have known that the appointment was set up for thier own gain. But not with Sue. He knew that she had done this for him...and he simply would not throw away the second precious gift that she had given him, within the same twenty-four hours.

"Please, Jack," Sue pleaded softly, wrapping her hands around his upper arms as the steaming water dripped from his face and hair as the water poured over them both. "Just go and see her once. You don't have to be nervous or shy with her...it's what she does, and she's very good at it. If you don't want to after, I'll never ask you to go, again."

Jack offered her no other answer than to pull her flush against him and press his lips warmly to hers, his hands becoming lost in her sleek wet mass of hair.

**Ok, there is the chapter of nothing but fluff. I hope that you enjoyed and really hope that it remained within the boundaries of decency. Please let me know if I should change anything for future readers that may be a bit too young and sorry if this happens.**

**A big big thanks to Fanpire101 for correcting me, in respects to Sue's old speech therapist's name. I could not remember it and was just using what I found on Google. Thank you, Ms. Fanpire101!**

**A/N: I had no idea where to send them for their honeymoon, but I'm pretty certain that Bobby would have been more than capable of convincing them to see his own home country.**


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line and the characters are not recognizable from the show. Thank you!**

**Once again, I would like to thank SailorJP, Fanpire101, cheliosfan, Huck05, JaS2g, Karyn, Gremlinpugs, and Countrygirl09 for your lovely reviews. Also, another big thanks to any other readers.**

Knocking lightly on the thick wooden door, he stood in the hallway silently, his hands folded behind his back. He had made up his mind. Some would call him completely insane for giving all of this up...but some things were more important. Those that he loved, more dearly than he would ever be able to explain, were more important. Those that had become his family were more important.

"Come in!" he heard called from the opposite side of the door, and he reached a steady hand forward to twist the knob.

Stepping inside the small, but pristine office, he closed the door noiselessly behind him. Turning to face the large man behind the desk, he took a deep breath. He had been debating his reason for coming to see this man, today, in his mind, for weeks. Ever since the engagement had taken place. It seemed like he was now hitting his dead-end...but this was completely worth it.

"Ted," he began, his voice all business. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask, away," Ted answered, dropping the pen in his hand upon the desk and leaning back in his leather chair, indicating that he should sit, too. "What's on your mind?"

"The wedding," he answered, knowing that Ted would be on exactly the same page as he was. "I want to know what needs to be done to make it possible for all of us to stay on the same team. Whatever I have to do, please...consider it done."

"We've already discussed this," Ted answered, his face growing more sober as he leaned forward. "A transfer will have to take place. It's the only logical solution that will keep everyone within the same location...another unit really isn't that bad."

"It is 'that bad', Ted," he sighed loudly, leaning back in the dark red fabric of the chair. "Listen...we're like a family. You've seen what this place has been like when one of us are gone and replacements and temps come in. It's disfunctional, to say the least."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Ted asked, picking up his pen again, only to tap it aggitatedly on the wooden desktop. "We all knew that a marriage within the same unit, at the same level, would cause some difficulties. I thought that you, of all people, would have understood that. As a leader on my best team, we've talked about this. You are responsible for helping make decisions that is best for the team. You have to choose...someone has to be transferred to another unit."

Taking a deep breath, he stood up from his seat, beginning to pace the length of the office. He had gone over this so many times, measuring up and investigating the bylaws and regulations of the F.B.I.'s policies. He was certain that this would work...and that they would all be allowed to stay together. No matter how much his brain and commen sense was telling him that this was stupid...something in his chest and the pit of his gut was telling him that this was what he should do. This was the answer, and he was willing to do what it took to take it.

"I have another idea," he said, still pacing the room, but meeting Garrett's eyes firmly. "A switch of positions."

"I'm sorry?" Ted asked, seeming confused, at first, but then slightly aggravated. Garrett did not like the prospect of breaking up his best team anymore than he did. "Being team-leader is not the problem, here...it's being on the same level of the totem pole, within the same unit. Come on...you know this!"

"I know," he answered, trying to explain himself, as Ted was obviously getting more and more frustrated, discussing an already unpleasant topic. "I mean a switch of positions from one level to another."

Garrett regarded him seriously, realization dawning behind his dark eyes, though his expression remained the same.

"Do you realize what you're suggesting?" Garrett asked, his voice calmer and more resigned, but still deathly sobered.

"Different duties, more responsibilities, better pay, a more sound position to start and raise a family with," he answered easily, taking his seat, again. "Same job that I love, same team, same life, different technicalities."

Garrett took another deep breath that seemed to move the whole of his large frame, before standing to his own feet and rounding the desk to sit on the edge. His folded his hands together on his lap, fingering a white envelope in his hand.

"You decided to wait until the day of to tell me this?" Garrett asked, coming to terms with the idea. "You're asking me to give a promotion to the second choice?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing," he answered, smiling with self-satisfaction, now absolutely certain, by the warm feeling in his stomach, that he was doing the right thing. "Some people deserve it more than other, because they need it more than others."

Garrett nodded his head in agreement, obviously not so certain as he was, but comfortable with the idea of settling for the runner-up.

"Well, if you're positive," Ted relented, pushing himself off of the desk and striding towards the door. "Let's get to the bullpen and get this done...one announcement, so as to avoid any confusion."

Jumping from his chair, he followed the supervisor from his office and down the hall, to where the rest of the team sat, perfectly unaware of what had passed and probably still discussing the details of the honeymoon. It was their first day back, after all.


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: It isn't mine, so don't let anybody tell you any different! :)**

**Thank you for your review, Pattyfer78. And thank you to anyone else that may have read.**

**Ok, blame the medication, but I was very drowsy when I wrote the previous chapter last night. It really was confusing! I didn't even clarify who was meeting with Garrett! Ugh...sorry. It made sense in my head, but you're all not telepathic. My apologies. However, this chapter has been edited to explain everything, and if I've missed something, just let me know, so that I may correct it, please! Thank you for being patient with me!**

"Alright, everybody!" Garrett called as he stepped through the door of the bullpen, raising the white envelope, that was still in his hand, into the air. "I have an announcement to make. However, I believe that you all already know what said announcement will announce."

Jack grinned broadly at the murmurmings that erupted throughout the room, just as Demetrius made his way in, coming to stand just behind Garrett, his eyes searching a file. With what had become his laugh, Jack pushed himself up from his chair, brushing past Sue, who sat on the corner of his desk, with the lightest of touches to her arm, and crossed to where Demetrius was now standing.

_Now we only have D no fake modest, _Jack signed, slapping a hand onto the older man's shoulder proudly.

"No one knows the result of major promotions until the day of...except Levi...I told him," Garrett explained, regarding the Golden Retriever that settled upon his rump at his side, but partially knowing better. They were his best team of investigators, weren't they? "At least, they're not supposed to...Does anyone else miss a time when I actually could keep all of my secret decisions to myself?"

"How can you miss something that you never had?" Sue questioned with a wry smile, rising from her place on Jack's desk.

"More importantly," Lucy interjected, touching Sue's shoulder. "How can we miss it?"

"There is a reason that it is gone," Myles agreed, placing the coffee kettle back in it's heating cup and sipping at his mug, reaching down uncharacteristically to fonder Levi's soft head. "Naturally...if we cared about how much that you would miss it...we wouldn't have taken away that sense of security from you in the first place."

Jack chuckled at the banter that had begun to fly about the room, from one simple statement. He had missed all of this, over the months since his and Bobby's stay in the hospital, and then Sue's much shorter one. Somewhat distractedly, he watched admiringly as his new wife crossed the center of the bullpen to stand next to Tara, whispering something in her ear.

"Umm...," came Tara's quirky input that always seemed to proceed a lot of smiles. "Sue wants to know exactly how long you had planned on keeping it when you took over our unit."

"A reasonable question," Bobby reasoned, coming up behind Tara and squeezing her shoulders in his hands. "I mean...what did you expect, really, mate?"

Garrett nodded his head in relunctant agreement. This was what he got for agreeing to take over one of the best, but most curious and inquisitive, teams in the entirety of the Washington Headquarters office. Well...this once, he would surprise them.

"Well, anyways," Garrett relented, tapping the envelope against the knuckles of his opposite hand, exchanging a glance with Demetrius that he knew no one else would see the actual meaning behind. "Formalities must be conducted, to a T."

As Garrett cleared his throat, Jack and Bobby simultaneously beat their drumroll against Tara's desk with the rolled up pieces of paper that Bobby had conjured up. Myles snatched a spoon from the coffee station, holding it up to his lips like a microphone and Sue, Lucy, and Tara stood smiling and laughing as the scene played out before them. It had been namely due to their curious questioning that they had discovered the recipient of the promotion.

"And, now, wearing a dashing unidentifiable black suit and red checkered tie," Myles murmurmed loud enough for all to hear, composing his voice into one similar to an action announcer. "Demetrius Ganns, our own dear and beloved fellow agent, stands...awaiting his destiny. Who could deserve it more?"

"Well, I don't know, Myles," Bobby joined in, using the dweedy American accent that he usually saved for telling Jack's 'Sparky' story, as Garrett stepped closer to where D. stood next to Jack, at the doorway. "Demetrius is our best candidate. But...Levi is coming up fast in the bureaucratic race. I'm not sure which leader I would prefer."

With a deal of effort to ignore them and carry on the formalities with the precision usually expected at the F.B.I., Ted tore open the new envelope and pulled out the newly and freshly printed identification card, still warm from the presses.

"I, Theodore Garrett, hereby grant the promotion to Senior Under-Supervisor, in training and as substitution, in case of the absence of the supervisor or director," Garrett said, following the wording that he had grown accustomed to having to use, in these situations, over the years. "To Agent Jackson Samuel Hudson."

The automatic celebratory noises that ensued lasted only a few seconds, before ending in a profound silence of shock and confusion. The applaud halted as everyone looked between Jack and Demetrius, the former being shocked, far beyond anyone else. It took several moments for him to realize that his name really had been said.

"No," Jack finally began, only his lips moving and his hands quickly picking up the pace to sign along. "No. Garrett...D.'s been passed over for this promotion once before, already! No...that's wrong. You have the wrong guy."

"I'm afraid not, Jack," Ted answered him after listening to Sue's translation, holding up a silencing hand. "Demetrius and I have discussed this. I cannot promote a man that refuses it...so, I promote the next in line."

Jack's eyes moved to Demetrius's downcast ones. The expression that he saw on his fatherly friend's face was not sadness or disappointment...but a strange joy that did not belong there. Not now. Not when he had been passed over for something that he deserved more than anyone in the Hoover building.

"Jack," Demetrius said slowly and lowly, so that only Jack would be able to hear, as he pulled him to the side and out into the hallway, briefly. "Please...take this."

_No, _Jack insisted, growing annoyed with what Demetrius was doing. Why, on earth, was he making this stupid decision. Jack pulled out his notepad. **What are you doing, D? This is the huge promotion that you've been waiting years for! What the devil are you doing, refusing it? Are you crazy?**

"No." Demetrius surprised Jack by laughing and grasping his shoulder firmly. "But working on this team everyday could make someone, couldn't it?"

**Stop joking, **Jack wrote, shoving the notepad to him. **This is serious. Why?**

Demetrius finally sobered his expression; he would not be able to get Jack to accept this, otherwise. Then it would have all been for naught.

"Because, I want to," Demetrius answered, meeting the younger man's eye. "Think about this, Jack...If you take the promotion...you'll be able to stay on the team, do the same job that you've always done, but be able to make the decisions when the supervisor is unavailable."

**I made my decision when I asked Sue to marry me, if not long before that, **Jack wrote in response, his expression still stone and firm with resolve. **I won't let you give this up to try and fix my decision. D, I appreciate this, but I would always feel like the worst of traitors, if I did take it.**

"You would be the worst of traitors if you didn't take it," Demetrius replied seriously, handing the notebook back to Jack. "Only the worst of traitors don't take the opportunity to stay with their team, their family, when it is offered to them. Only the worst of traitors would not take what their friend gave up for them. Either way...I'm not taking the promotion. Don't let it go to waste, Jack."

Jack stared at Demetrius, dumbfounded. This could not be happening...yet, it was.

**Do you know what you're giving up? What you're asking me to take, instead of you, even though you deserve it? **Jack asked, passing him the final slip of paper. **What about Donna, and the kids? If you don't take this promotion, there's nothing else left. Dead-end; as far as you'll go at the F.B.I..**

"Jack," Demetrius answered, feeling rather tired of trying to explain himself. But he knew Jack's well-meaning; his young friend was far too good a man to take something from a friend that he thought he did not deserve, without a fight. "I have thought about this, over and over, again. We have to stay on the same team...we're nothing if we're split up. With this promotion, you will have to take on a few more responsibilities than I always had when I was...let's say 'pretending' to be the Senior Under-Supervisor. It won't change that much...but your paychecks will be much prettier. You'll find that that will come in a lot of hand, now that you and Sue are married, and starting a new family. Come on, Jack...please...I'm asking you, as one of my best friends, to take this."

Jack still felt as though someone had struck him with a bag of bricks. How could this possibly be happening? He had been prepared for the transfer...well, as prepared as he could have been. Never had he wanted one of the best men that he knew to give up something so substantial to make his life a bit easier; it was too much.

"Jack...," Demetrius encouraged, crossing his arms over his chest as he explain further. "I'm older than you. My family is almost grown, and we're out of the difficult parts. I am more than set to retire with Donna, whenever that time comes, with the job that I have. Yes, it won't get any better than this...but I love this. I love my job and have been satisfied with it for years...that won't change, now. Sometimes...people deserve things more because it can do the most good for them."

With that, Demetrius left Jack in the hallway, alone, and returned to the bullpen. Taking a few moments to correct his breathing back to normal, Jack felt as though he could positively start crying, to think of what Demetrius was doing for him and Sue...for the family that they planned on having. Sucking in one more deep breath and releasing it, Jack rolled his eyes to staunch the threatening flow. God, this was so much more than he could handle. He had always believed in God and loved him, though he could not claim to be the saintly Christian that he wished he was. But, good God, he had never expected these kinds of blessings...nothing this big. Was marrying Sue not a miracle, enough?

"Hudson," Garrett's voice said, interrupting his thoughts, and he realized that he had wandered back to their office. The supervisor held out the crisp identification card that recognized Jack, in his new position of authority, within the Bureau.

Moving his gaze from the card, Jack looked around the rest of the office. Near the coffee machine, Demetrius was standing close to Sue, saying something that he could not hear, as Myles, Lucy, Bobby, and Tara were huddled nearby, listening. He saw the look of shock as Sue covered her mouth, that had dropped open in surprise, and the stream of tears that followed. He watched as the team patted Demetrius on the back, each one's face dawning with realization of what he had done for the newly wed couple. He felt like he would implode, entirely, as Demetrius reached forward and pulled Sue into a fatherly embraced, patting her back soothingly, and calming her. Jack knew how Sue felt things so much closer to heart, than most.

"Congratulations, Jack," Ted finished, nodding at him understandingly. He grasped Jack's hand and pulled him forward, slightly, to speak lowly in his ear. "I talked to him about this, too. It's what he wanted...don't feel like you're stealing something when a friend gives you a gift...Meet me in my office tomorrow morning for the meeting with the director and those other windbags...to discuss everything. By the way...I never got the chance to tell you, but the wedding reception was really fun."

Jack met Ted's eyes and nodded, still feeling completely overwhelmed.

"Well, Sparky, mate," Bobby finally addressed him, calling attention to Jack far sooner than he was prepared for. "It looks like we really do have to answer to you, now."

"A daunting prospect," both Tara and Lucy happened to say, at the same time.

"Well, I think that it'll be the best thing that ever happened to this team," D. said certainly, pushing Myles's head away when he whispered something too low for anyone else to hear. "At least, we all know that we can expect certain days for important games off, whenever Jack has the say-so."

The laughs that erupted from this fell on deaf ears as Jack still tried to wrap his head around this. Sue had now been released and was crossing over to where Jack stood, motionless, as though truly in shock. When he heard her soft sobs, Jack enveloped her within his arms, feeling just as overwhelmed, but distantly happy, as she was. A tear finally escaped his barrier as he kissed Sue's hair, holding her as closely as workplace-decency would permit, and Levi whining sympathetically as he gently pawed at her pant leg.

Jack opened his mouth, as though to speak, but suddenly remembered that it was useless. But Demetrius seemed to comprehend the action, and patted Jack's shoulder understandingly as Sue reached out a timid hand to take his, showing her feeble signs of appreciation.

It would no do. It would not do, at all, to not tell Demetrius of just how grateful he truly was. He had to do his best...or he would hurt himself trying.

It took several attempts, and looks that shouted of bated breaths, from his coworkers and friends, but it finally happened. Jack finally heard the sound that he had been craving to hear, for months.

"Tha-nnnk...youuuu," Jack forced out, determined that Sue was not confident in his ability for no reason.

It had came out rather broken and croakily, but it had came out, after much effort, nonetheless. Finally, overwhelmed, Jack released Sue to give Demetrius a quick brotherly hug and had to turn from the room, before he lost control of himself, completely.

Sue followed him into the old, polished, conference room that he had escaped into and fell into his embrace, once again. He had spoken. She knew it...she had seen the reactions of everyone else, and she could sense it. Dear God, first Demetrius, now this?

"Thank you," she prayed tearfully, an incredible warmth filling her up and Jack held her as closely and intimately, as ever he had.

**Ok, probably very cheesy, but I realized that I had not mended the problem of the No Fraternization Policy. I cannot say that the facts that I made up are true...but I tried to reason with myself. Please review and let me know what you think. I feel like this one was rather blotchy. Thank you!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: I own none of these lovely characters from the television show. **

**Another giant thank you to SailorJP, Fanpire101, Huck05, JaS2g, Gremlinpugs, Countrygirl09, and cjanff for your reviews! Also, again, thanks to any other readers.**

**I sincerely apologize for my update being so prolonged, in between. I just started back to college, so have been a bit busy between that and work. Thank you for still being patient with me! :)**

**Five Years Later:**

_What you do? _Jack asked, capturing Sue's fingers in his own and pulling them from his neck to his lips, brushing a small kiss over her knuckles.

"I'm just looking," Sue answered with a tiny smile, using her other hand to lift his chin, allowing her a better view of the scar that lie just beneath. Leaning forward slightly, she pressed a gentle kiss to it, letting out an almost inaudible sigh. "It seems so long ago, now."

Jack sank back deeper into his pillow, pulling her closer to settle warmly against his chest and shoulder. He relished in the tingling sensations that passed over his entire being at the feeling of her bare flesh on his, her warmth.

"It's not all that long ago," Sue read on his lips, looking up at him from her place, in his arms, as he continued. "Your feet are cold."

Sue almost laughed at the sudden change of topic as she felt Jack's legs move to wrap around her own, heating her chilled feet and toes with his 'always-toasty ones', as she liked to call them. Moving her legs closer to the welcomed increase of temperature, she shifted her position to a much more comfortable one.

"It's a side effect of the winter and hardwood floors, unfortunately," Sue replied, feigning complete dismay, but quickly transformed her grimace to a cheerful smile, still attempting to fight the fogginess that came with awakening as she yawned. "Did you sleep well?"

"A little restless, actually," Jack mouthed with a mischevious grin, looking down at her, with her hair all a mess and the makeup that she had not managed to wash off slightly smeared.

"Oh, is that so?" Sue asked with an expression of forced interest and wonder. "Odd."

Jack felt his chest rise and fall as he chuckled, winding his arms closer about her and shifting his position to lay lower in the bed, making them face to face. Stretching and flexing his limbs and muscles, his chest rumbled gently with a groan as he buried his face into his favorite place, just in the crook of Sue's neck and shoulder, harbored safely between she and the mattress.

_Why you invite team breakfast? _Jack asked, waving his hand to catch her attention, feeling very unwilling to give up his glorious current position of such comfort and snuggness.

"Because," Sue explained, rubbing a hand over his broad back, gently putting pressure here and there, trying to help relieve some of the tension. "Bobby and Tara need a proper celebration with just the team before they leave for their anniversary trip. And...Lucy and Will will be leaving for their honeymoon, tomorrow. We won't see half of our team for two weeks."

Jack gave a deep 'hmph', pulling his face back relunctantly to look her in the eye. "You only decided to invite them when Bobby started talking about how difficult it would probably be to find 'Sue's pancakes' in Anchorage, Alaska."

"I think it's sweet that they're doing that," Sue replied, completely disregarding his joke as the thought really struck her. "Tara said that she always wanted to see all of the states...now she can cross Alaska off of her list."

"Who would've thought Bobby to be such a sap? I mean, Will taking Lucy to London is great...a once in a lifetime thing, but Bobby?" Jack asked, to no one in particular, but a joking smile on his lips. He loved to bother Sue by acting so judgemental of sentimental acts, by his friends.

"Alaska is Tara's once in a lifetime thing...and as I recall," Sue replied with a wry grin, playfully patting on his cheek in false little slaps. "You got a bit 'sappy' a few times, over the years, too."

"Bringing you flowers from my runs was not sappy," Jack mouthed defensively. "It was masculine romance."

"Mhmmm," Sue smiled, pulling away to sit up and stretch her own tense muscles. "Ok, Jack...I'll let you keep the faux pride that you've built up...if it makes you feel better."

_Thank you, _he signed in reply, sitting up, also.

His eyes drifted over her bare back, watching as she rubbed at her lower back, grimacing at the tightness. Drawing his legs up, he turned towards her and worked at the lower muscles, himself, firmly but tenderly kneading the knots out with his fingers. Sue seemed to relax entirely, at his touch, allowing herself to enjoy the reclaimed comfort of her back.

After a few minutes, she pulled his hands away with her own and kissed them before shifting her legs over the side of the bed.

"This is getting tiring," Sue stated with a sigh, noticing, yet again, how she felt, at least, fifty pounds heavier than she had ever felt, in her life.

_Just four week more, _Jack replied, crawling off of his side of the bed and pulling the navy blue house robe that had been lying over the bottom of the bed around his shoulders.

"We still haven't decided, yet, Jack," Sue returned, watching his back and hands as he signed, pulling her own baby blue house robe on.

_Name?_ Jack asked, his mind still a bit fuzzy; he tried never to think too much before he had a shower and a cup of coffee.

"Yes," Sue answered, pushing herself up and off of the bed. "What do you think, so far? Is Carla Anne Hudson, ok?"

Jack released a large sigh, before rounding the bed to hold Sue where she now stood, by the windows. He was not entirely certain on how to broach the subject, especially when she seemed so determined. His parents had attempted a reconstruction of the bridge that they had burned, but when Jack had insisted that he had not, and never would, change his mind, they had retreated, yet again. It made him bitter to think about how they had been, while invited over Sue and his house, for dinner, had completely ignored Sue, as though she were not even there. Why had they even faked the attempt, if only to hurt Sue more?

But then, Sue had never let on. Jack had hated every moment of trying to be civil, because he knew that's what Sue wanted, while they treated his pregnant wife like a pesky fly on the wall. He had hated sitting there, watching Sue sit silently, at his side, not eating, or drinking, or even bothering to try and keep up with the conversation. He hated that the only words that his mother had spoken to Sue had been of how lucky it was that Sue knew such a wonderful, miracle-working speech therapist. He had hated seeing the tears in Sue's eyes when she excused herself to the restroom, but refused to let him see her cry, when he had followed. He hated having to convice Sue, all over again, that marrying her was worth so much more to him than a relationship with his parents, and that he never would regret it.

"I think that we should leave my mother out of it," Jack answered softly, meeting her eyes meaningfully. He could tell that she was about to argue, so pressed onward. "Please, Sue...don't make the name of a woman like my mother a part of our baby girl. Please."

Sue held his gaze for several moments before nodding her agreement and respect for his wishes. It was not that she was particularly partial to the idea of naming their soon-to-arrive daughter after his mother, but she had wanted it for him.

_What about L-U-C-I-L-L-E? _Jack signed, tipping Sue's chin up in an attempt to cheer her back up, then finished by mouthing. "Lucille, for Lucy?"

That had done the trick. The delighted smile and happily raised eyebrows were back.

"Carla Lucille Hudson...," Sue pondered, narrowing her brows thoughtfully. "I love it. Wait...what about Carla Lucille T...?"

"Whoa, whoa." Jack stopped her with a hand cupped over her mouth, quickly replaced by a swift kiss. "Let's save some names for the next one, huh?"

Sue rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "You are the only man that I have ever met that starts talking about the next one, before the current one is even born...Well, except for Bobby, but he's teasing us! You should have to carry one of these little-bitties around for nine months, then go through labor and childbirth."

"I don't know," Jack answered with a wry grin, loving the fact that he was getting her riled up. "I think that it would all be worth it to have a bunch of random women come up and rub your belly, everytime you go out in public. Looks fun."

"Sometimes people, especially the little kids, don't know how rough they're being," Sue argued, pulling away and crossing to their chest of drawers to pull out fresh underclothes. "I know that they mean well and people just love babies...but it can hurt, if they're not gentle."

Jack laughed at the sight of her, belly a perfect swollen oval shape, beneath her robe, with her hair and makeup a mess. It was almost like dejavu...they had had a very similar morning the morning after Bobby and Tara's wedding, and now Lucy and Sue's brother, William's, wedding. Maybe it was just something about weddings, he mused. He always loved how she looked in the mornings, disheveled, and all.

"I tell you what," Jack replied, stepping up behind her and pulling her around to face him. "You go and jump in the shower, and I'll take care of the coffee and the two terrors down the hallway."

"Oh, no," Sue laughed, pushing the underpants that she had grabbed for him into his deep robe pockets. "The first shower is always the coldest...I'll go take care of the nightmares." Sue patted on his chest playfully. "You go and enjoy your shower...you're starting to smell funny."

"Hahaha," Jack mocked, pulling his boxers out of his pocket, pecking Sue on the cheek, then crossing their room towards their bathroom.

Sue watched him, for a moment, laughing as he made a playful scene of slamming the door, but catching it before it made a loud noise. Sue sighed as she passed through their bedroom door and continued down the hallway, one hand resting supportively on her lower back, to the bedroom at the end of the hallway. The last thing she needed was for a loud noise to scare the two rascals, just beyond, first thing in the morning.

Opening the door, however, Sue realized that it would probably make little difference, this morning.

_Good morning, Mommy, _one of the two little boys that were bouncing around the room greeted, using the sign that Jack had invented for the word 'Mommy', unsatisfied with merely the sign for 'Mother'. Sue liked the idea, but did he have to make it so very similar to the sign for 'crazy', just with two fingers?

"Good morning, sweethearts!" Sue said happily, managing to kneel down on her knees, with no small degree of difficulty, to pull little Daniel into a hug.

Upon seeing his mother, in between bounces from bed to bed, Demetrius stopped dead in his tracks. Nearly tripping over himself, he rushed towards his mother and younger brother, forcing himself in his mother's range of attention by throwing his arms around her neck.

"Cawefool, Dimitwiusss...," little Daniel chided his elder brother, placing two hands on Sue's belly protectively. "You hwurt wittle swister!"

"I not hurt little sister, Danny," Demetrius replied, his childish arguement hot, but also rather explainitory. "It only hurt little sister if you hurt Mommy tummy. Daddy say so!"

Sue watched the two boys, greatly humored, even if their tiny lips were more difficult to read. She could not help but feel very proud of the two of them, even at so young of ages as four and two.

Demetrius was nearly a spitting image of Jack, but was as stubborn as she was, almost to a fault, sometimes...but it was serving him well. He had been born deaf, a fact that had bothered her, in the beginning, but that was seeming less and less of a drawback. She was perfectly able to enjoy her life without hearing, even if she missed some things, so why couldn't Demetrius? It made her prouder, still, to see how well he was doing with his speech therapy sessions. Jack had told her when he had started really speaking, at the age of three, and for the past year, at least, she had been able to read his lips. She knew that he still had a lot of things to learn, but she was so proud of his progress.

Not to mention little Daniel Robert, who looked more like her, but had the personality of his father. She could not imagine a sweeter, more loving little boy. He was reckless and wild, most of the time, along with his older brother's influence, but he was also sweet and tender. Especially, when it came to Sue and Jack telling the two little rambunctious boys that there was a baby in Mommy's tummy, waiting to come and see them and be their little sister.

It had taken some explaining to get their innocent little boy minds to comprehend it, but Jack had finally managed when Tara decided to "discreetly' lend him one of her and Bobby's daughter's, Amelia, baby dolls.

"Mommy!" Daniel suddenly exclaimed, leaping to his feet, Demetrius quick on his heels. "Look what we can do!" Without another word, both little boys jumped the few feet between their beds, to land on one bed, from the other. Only then did Sue notice the pillow cases tied loosely around their necks, obviously Demetrius's handiwork.

Yes, they were both very sweet boys, and, she was certain, would be doting big brothers. But, put them together, and they were nothing short of a whirlwind.

Managing to stand up, with the aide of a nearby toy box, Sue moved to their little dresser and pulled out some clothes, for the day. Handing the appropriate clothing the the matching boy, she charged Demetrius with the responsibility of seeing that they both got dressed properly, kissed both of their hair-filled heads, and departed for the kitchen. She had a lot of work to do if she was going to make breakfast for everyone, especially with as much as all of the males of their little party could eat, including the two bottomless pits that were now getting dressed.

* * *

><p>"Suuuuuue," Bobby groaned, just as soon as she pulled away from the stove enough to notice him waving at her. "Sparky won't share!"<p>

Jack slapped Bobby's hand away, yet again, from the pancake that he had managed to sneak off of the large platter beside the stove, without Sue spying him.

"I am too!" Jack defended, handing a piece to each Danny, little Demetrius, and little Amelia, fending off Mason and James, over his shoulder. "Just not with you."

"If I see one more of these disappear, before they hit the table, I won't let anyone share with either one of you!" Sue laughed, swatting at both Bobby and Jack's now-outstretched hands, with her spatula.

_One for big brother that marry? _William signed, touching Sue's shoulder, for her attention.

"Nope," Sue answered firmly, tearing off several paper towels and laying them over the platter of breakfast cakes.

"Why not?" Kenneth demanded, once Sue looked up, again, coming to stand at William's side, and Michael following closely.

"Because," Lucy explained for her, pulling a spare apron over her own head, to help Sue. "If we give you three some, we have to give everyone some, then there will be none left."

"I never thought that I would ever see so many grown men being so impatient," Tara remarked, moving to lean against the counter, next to Sue, her own pregnant belly giving Sue a run for her money. "Why is it that tiny little kids and teenagers are all watching T.V. and chatting happily away with Uncle D., while five grown men are arguing like kids?"

"Alright, alright," Jack relented, properly repremanded, and he waved his arms in a wide motion, as though ushering the rest of them out, to leave Sue, Tara, and Lucy to their own devices.

However, just as Sue began to relax her defenses, she felt the familiar pressure of Jack's hands on her shoulders as he pulled her aside, toward the laundry closet. Sue could just imagine the giggling that was coming 'quietly' from Lucy and Tara, but it had gotten easier to ignore, and even find humor in.

"I thought that you said that it was a team breakfast, sweetheart," Jack commented, a hand gently carressing Sue's stomach, their child, while the other tenderly held her face within kissing range of his. "I mean, I don't mind, at all...you know that I never do...I just didn't know that everyone was coming."

"Well," Sue explained with a crooked grin, reaching up to press a gentle kiss on his jawbone, and ticking off her points with her fingers. "It seems that our team has been extended. First off, there is the 'original' team. The original team was extended by two internal marriages and the inevitable children that came with them. Then, an external marriage, in which, my best friend married by big brother. When you invite one brother, you invite the rest. When you invite the brothers, you invite your husband's brothers. When you invite siblings, then the parents must be invited. Then, how could I not invite Amelia and Ms. Casey. Amelia loves to see everyone, and you and Bobby were the ones that decided that she was a part of the team, years ago. And, Ms. Casey has been my, yours, and Demetrius's speech therapist, so that makes her a part of the team, through extension."

Jack began to laugh, but Sue pressed on, as he kissed lightly at her cheek, pretending not to notice.

"Plus, we love the 'iron witch'," Sue went on, running out of fingers for her points, so began to sign her numbers of points. "And, when having such a gathering, Howie is bound to find out, through his 'street connections', though I think that he really got the information out of Tara, who wanted to bother Bobby. Howie considers himself a part of the team, no matter how many times we inform him of the opposite. When you invite Howie, Otis is definately tagging along. Amanda and Kevin always have an open invitation, as do Charlie and Troy...and I never forget to remind them when to take it!"

"Ok, ok," Jack soothed, pressing his lips to hers to try and smother away the expression of mock offense on her face.

"I have breakfast to get on the table," Sue said crisply, a few moments later. She flung the laundry room door open and strode out, leaving Jack laughing, in her wake, completely amused by her antics. "Get out!" she ordered.

Jack raised his hands in surrender, but managed to snatch two pancakes from around Lucy's blockade, before disappearing into the dining room, where the grown ups sat, conversing, while the kids watched television in the livingroom, the few teenagers there, staying with the kids to help maintain peace.

"Daniel, heads up!" Jack cautioned, handing his father in law one of the small round cakes.

"I knew that there was a reason that I allowed my daughter to marry a special agent," Daniel Thomas grinned, accepting Jack's shared findings. "He's still quick enough to sneak what I couldn't."

Sue watched as the large group began to laugh, even Troy, as Charlie managed to translate for him. Stepping through the door that Lucy was holding open for her, platter in hand, she leaned over her father's shoulder to set them on the table.

"You're the only man here that I would have gladly given one to, Daddy," Sue smiled, kissing her father's cheek. "Well...you and Charlie."

"Now how is that fair, Susie, huh?" Howie whined, but smiled, all the same, as everyone began to take their places around the table. "Tell me that."

Sue rolled her eyes, taking the seat in between her father and Jack, that Jack held back for her. The many mix-matched chairs around the table, many of which had been brought from various houses of their visitors, was quite the funny sight. Not to mention, the array of T.V. trays and small tables that they all had managed to scrounge up for the kids.

Joining hands, Sue and Demetrius, the child, were the only ones open-eyed, watching as Grandpa prayed over their breakfast.

Jack smiled faintly at the idea that this enormous gathering of loved ones was only a family breakfast. Anyone that said that he had given up his family, for this, was completely crazy.

"Amen," Daniel Thomas finished, ending his prayer, but retaining his wife's hand in his, as Jack kept Sue's.

"Finally!" Otis beamed, looking around the table, as everyone else began reaching forks and knives forward to take their pancakes and the teenagers made plates for themselves and the little children. "Hey...umm...where's the syrup?" he asked, looking towards Jack and standing from his seat, preparing to go and retrieve it for everyone.

All eyes turned towards Bobby, who sat at Tara's side, eye's wide with realization as he froze in place.

"Bobby...," Tara began, shaking her head. "You knew that it was our turn. Tell me that you didn't forget the syrups." Bobby made not the slightest movement to answer. "Bobby!...I put them right beside your keys! How did you forget?"

"It just slipped my mind, sweet sheila" Bobby finally defended, almost cowering under the gazes being thrown at him by all but Sue and Lucy, who were laughing on either side of the table.

"That's it," Demetrius Sr. concluded, snatching the top two pancakes off of Bobby's rediculously high pile. "You've lost your pancake privileges...come here, Levi." Demetrius patted Levi's head as the dog accepted his offerings gratefully. "Well...at least someone benefits from this."

"No, wait!" Bobby exclaimed, jumping from his seat and snatching his jacket off of the back of the chair. "If I have to go through this snow, we will get syrup!"

With that, Bobby nearly ran out of the door.

"You do know that there's syrup in the pantry, don't you?" Lucy asked Jack and Sue.

"Yeah."

**This is the final chapter for this story and I haven't the slightest idea where most of it came from. I just really wanted to pull everything together in a family-oriented way; hope that this sufficed and didn't seem too off-the-wall. Thank you so much for reading. I figured that I could end this loooooong story with a bit of fluff. **

**Also, I sincerely hope that everyone effected by large Eastern border earthquake and hurricane Irene is weathering well and staying safe. My prayers are with all of you. God bless and keep everyone out of harm's way.**

**P.S.- Please let me know what you think.**


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